Method for transmitting and receiving physical channel and signals on basis of bandwidth part (bwp) in unlicensed band, and device using same

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is a base station of a wireless communication system. Each base station for wireless communication comprises: a communication module; and a processor. The processor can receive signaling about a bandwidth part (BWP) from the base station, determine, on the basis of the signaling, an activated BWP among one or more BWPs set in an unlicensed band, and monitor a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) in the activated BWP.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a wireless communication system. Specifically, the present disclosure relates to a method for transmitting/receiving physical channels and signals on the basis of a bandwidth part (BWP) in a wireless communication system operating in an unlicensed band, and a device using the same.

BACKGROUND ART

After commercialization of 4th generation (4G) communication system, in order to meet the increasing demand for wireless data traffic, efforts are being made to develop new 5th generation (5G) communication systems. The 5G communication system is called as a beyond 4G network communication system, a post LTE system, or a new radio (NR) system. In order to achieve a high data transfer rate, 5G communication systems include systems operated using the millimeter wave (mmWave) band of 6 GHz or more, and include a communication system operated using a frequency band of 6 GHz or less in terms of ensuring coverage so that implementations in base stations and terminals are under consideration.

A 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) NR system enhances spectral efficiency of a network and enables a communication provider to provide more data and voice services over a given bandwidth. Accordingly, the 3GPP NR system is designed to meet the demands for high-speed data and media transmission in addition to supports for large volumes of voice. The advantages of the NR system are to have a higher throughput and a lower latency in an identical platform, support for frequency division duplex (FDD) and time division duplex (TDD), and a low operation cost with an enhanced end-user environment and a simple architecture.

For more efficient data processing, dynamic TDD of the NR system may use a method for varying the number of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols that may be used in an uplink and downlink according to data traffic directions of cell users. For example, when the downlink traffic of the cell is larger than the uplink traffic, the base station may allocate a plurality of downlink OFDM symbols to a slot (or subframe). Information about the slot configuration should be transmitted to the terminals.

In order to alleviate the path loss of radio waves and increase the transmission distance of radio waves in the mmWave band, in 5G communication systems, beamforming, massive multiple input/output (massive MIMO), full dimensional MIMO (FD-MIMO), array antenna, analog beam-forming, hybrid beamforming that combines analog beamforming and digital beamforming, and large scale antenna technologies are discussed. In addition, for network improvement of the system, in the 5G communication system, technology developments related to evolved small cells, advanced small cells, cloud radio access network (cloud RAN), ultra-dense network, device to device communication (D2D), vehicle to everything communication (V2X), wireless backhaul, non-terrestrial network communication (NTN), moving network, cooperative communication, coordinated multi-points (CoMP), interference cancellation, and the like are being made. In addition, in the 5G system, hybrid FSK and QAM modulation (FQAM) and sliding window superposition coding (SWSC), which are advanced coding modulation (ACM) schemes, and filter bank multi-carrier (FBMC), non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA), and sparse code multiple access (SCMA), which are advanced connectivity technologies, are being developed.

Meanwhile, in a human-centric connection network where humans generate and consume information, the Internet has evolved into the Internet of Things (IoT) network, which exchanges information among distributed components such as objects. Internet of Everything (IoE) technology, which combines IoT technology with big data processing technology through connection with cloud servers, is also emerging. In order to implement IoT, technology elements such as sensing technology, wired/wireless communication and network infrastructure, service interface technology, and security technology are required, so that in recent years, technologies such as sensor network, machine to machine (M2M), and machine type communication (MTC) have been studied for connection between objects. In the IoT environment, an intelligent internet technology (IT) service that collects and analyzes data generated from connected objects to create new value in human life can be provided. Through the fusion and mixture of existing information technology (IT) and various industries, IoT can be applied to fields such as smart home, smart building, smart city, smart car or connected car, smart grid, healthcare, smart home appliance, and advanced medical service.

Accordingly, various attempts have been made to apply the 5G communication system to the IoT network. For example, technologies such as a sensor network, a machine to machine (M2M), and a machine type communication (MTC) are implemented by techniques such as beamforming, MIMO, and array antennas. The application of the cloud RAN as the big data processing technology described above is an example of the fusion of 5G technology and IoT technology. Generally, a mobile communication system has been developed to provide voice service while ensuring the user's activity.

However, the mobile communication system is gradually expanding not only the voice but also the data service, and now it has developed to the extent of providing high-speed data service. However, in a mobile communication system in which services are currently being provided, a more advanced mobile communication system is required due to a shortage phenomenon of resources and a high-speed service demand of users.

In recent years, with the explosion of mobile traffic due to the spread of smart devices, it is becoming difficult to cope with the increasing data usage for providing cellular communication services using only the existing licensed frequency spectrums or licensed frequency bands.

In such a situation, a method of using an unlicensed frequency spectrum or an unlicensed frequency band (e.g., 2.4 GHz band, 5 GHz band or higher band, or the like) for providing cellular communication services is being discussed as a solution to the problem of lack of spectrum.

Unlike in licensed bands in which telecommunications carriers secure exclusive use rights through procedures such as auctions, in unlicensed bands, multiple communication devices may be used simultaneously without restrictions on the condition that only a certain level of adjacent band protection regulations are observed. For this reason, when an unlicensed band is used for cellular communication service, it is difficult to guarantee the communication quality to the level provided in the licensed band, and it is likely that interference with existing wireless communication devices (e.g., wireless LAN devices) using the unlicensed band occurs.

In order to use LTE and NR technologies in unlicensed bands, research on coexistence with existing devices for unlicensed bands and efficient sharing of wireless channels is to be conducted in advance. That is, it is required to develop a robust coexistence mechanism (RCM) such that devices using LTE and NR technologies in the unlicensed band do not affect the existing devices for unlicensed bands.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Technical Problem

It is an aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure to provide a method for transmitting/receiving physical channels and signals on the basis of a bandwidth part (BWP) in a wireless communication system operating in an unlicensed band, and a device using the same.

Technical Solution

A base station of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes: a communication module; and a processor configured to control the communication module. The processor is configured to: configure one or more bandwidth parts (BWPs) for a user equipment in an unlicensed band; perform channel access in an activated BWP among the one or more BWPs configured for the user equipment; and when the channel access in the BWP is successfully performed, transmit a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) for scheduling a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) through the BWP.

When multiple BWPs among the one or more BWPs configured for the user equipment are activated and the base station has succeeded in channel access in multiple BWPs among the multiple activated BWPs, the processor may transmit the PDSCH in a BWP having a highest priority among the multiple BWPs in which the base station has succeeded in channel access.

The priority may be determined based on a bandwidth of each of the multiple BWPs.

The priority may be determined based on an index of each of the multiple BWPs.

The processor may activate only one of the one or more BWPs configured for the user equipment.

When a control resource set (CORESET) is configured in the activated BWP, the processor may configure the CORESET within a basic bandwidth included in the activated BWP. The basic bandwidth may indicate a unit in which the base station determines whether a channel is idle.

When the base station has succeeded in channel access in multiple basic bandwidths which are configured within the activated BWP and include CORESETs, the processor may transmit the PDCCH in a CORESET of one of the multiple basic bandwidths.

A priority may be designated for each of the multiple basic bandwidths including the CORESETs. The processor may determine, based on the priority of each of the multiple basic bandwidths, a basic bandwidth in which the PDCCH is to be transmitted.

Each of the multiple basic bandwidths including the CORESETs may have a unique priority.

Multiple basic bandwidths in which the PDCCH is capable of being transmitted, among the multiple basic bandwidths including the CORESETs, may be designated. When the base station has succeeded in channel access in multiple basic bandwidths among the multiple designated basic bandwidths, the processor may transmit a PDCCH in a CORESET of one of the multiple basic bandwidths in which the channel access is successfully performed.

A user equipment of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes: a communication module; and a processor configured to control the communication module. The processor is configured to: receive signaling regarding a bandwidth part (BWP) from a base station; determine, based on the signaling, an activated BWP among one or more BWPs configured in an unlicensed band; and monitor a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) in the activated BWP.

When multiple BWPs are activated for the user equipment, the processor may sequentially monitor a PDCCH in the multiple BWPs, based on a priority of each of the multiple BWPs, and when a PDCCH has been received in one of the multiple BWPs, may omit PDCCH monitoring in BWPs other than the BWP in which the PDCCH has been received.

The priority may be determined based on a bandwidth of each of the multiple BWPs.

The priority may be determined based on an index of each of the multiple BWPs.

Only one of the one or more BWPs configured for the user equipment may be activated.

When a control resource set (CORESET) is configured in the activated BWP, the CORESET may be configured within a basic bandwidth included in the activated BWP. The basic bandwidth may indicate a unit in which the base station determines whether a channel is idle.

The processor may monitor a PDCCH, based on a priority of each of multiple basic bandwidths including the CORESET.

Each of the multiple basic bandwidths including the CORESET may have a unique priority.

Basic bandwidths, in which the PDCCH is capable of being transmitted, among the multiple basic bandwidths including the CORESET, may be designated by the base station. The processor may monitor the PDCCH in a CORESET of each of the multiple designated basic bandwidths.

The processor may receive a PDCCH for scheduling a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) and may receive the PDSCH, based on a resource allocation (RA) field of downlink control information (DCI) of the PDCCH for scheduling the PDSCH. The RA field may include a first field which indicates a basic bandwidth including a resource allocated for transmission of the PDSCH, and a second field which indicates a resource allocated for PDSCH transmission within the basic bandwidth indicated by the first field.

Advantageous Effects

An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a method for transmitting/receiving physical channels and signals on the basis of a bandwidth part (BWP) in a wireless communication system operating in an unlicensed band, and a device using the same.

Advantageous effects obtainable from the present disclosure are not limited to the above-mentioned advantageous effects, and other advantageous effects not mentioned herein will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art to which the present disclosure pertains.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a wireless frame structure used in a wireless communication system.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a downlink (DL)/uplink (UL) slot structure in a wireless communication system.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a physical channel used in a 3GPP system and a typical signal transmission method using the physical channel.

FIG. 4 illustrates an SS/PBCH block for initial cell access in a 3GPP NR system.

FIG. 5 illustrates a procedure for transmitting control information and a control channel in a 3GPP NR system.

FIG. 6 illustrates a control resource set (CORESET) in which a physical downlink control channel (PUCCH) may be transmitted in a 3GPP NR system.

FIG. 7 illustrates a method for configuring a PDCCH search space in a 3GPP NR system.

FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram illustrating carrier aggregation.

FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining single carrier communication and multiple carrier communication.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example in which a cross carrier scheduling technique is applied.

FIG. 11 illustrates a code block group (CBG) configuration and time frequency resource mapping thereof according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 illustrates a procedure in which a base station performs a TB-based transmission or a CBG-based transmission, and a UE transmits a HARQ-ACK in response thereto, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 illustrates a New Radio-Unlicensed (NR-U) service environment.

FIG. 14 illustrates an embodiment of an arrangement scenario of a UE and a base station in an NR-U service environment.

FIG. 15 illustrates a communication method (e.g., wireless LAN) operating in an existing unlicensed band.

FIG. 16 illustrates a channel access procedure based on Category 4 LBT according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 illustrates an embodiment of a method of adjusting a contention window size (CWS) based on HARQ-ACK feedback.

FIG. 18 is a block diagram illustrating configurations of a UE and a base station according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 19 shows the case in which, when a base station according to an embodiment of the present disclosure configures a BWP including one or more basic bandwidths, the base station transmits a PDCCH in a CORESET configured within each basic bandwidth and transmits a PDSCH in the BWP, on the basis of a priority of each basic bandwidth.

FIG. 20 shows the case in which, when a BWP is configured to include one or more basic bandwidths according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a base station transmits a PDCCH in a CORESET configured within each basic bandwidth, according to priorities of the designated basic bandwidths, and transmits a PDSCH in the BWP.

FIG. 21 shows the case in which, when a BWP is configured to include one or more basic bandwidths according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, one or more basic bandwidths in which a base station can transmit a PDCCH are designated, and the base station transmits the PDCCH in a CORESET configured within each basic bandwidth, according to the designated basic bandwidths, and transmits a PDSCH in the BWP.

MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Terms used in the specification adopt general terms which are currently widely used as possible by considering functions in the present invention, but the terms may be changed depending on an intention of those skilled in the art, customs, and emergence of new technology. Further, in a specific case, there is a term arbitrarily selected by an applicant and in this case, a meaning thereof will be described in a corresponding description part of the invention. Accordingly, it intends to be revealed that a term used in the specification should be analyzed based on not just a name of the term but a substantial meaning of the term and contents throughout the specification.

Throughout this specification and the claims that follow, when it is described that an element is “connected” to another element, the element may be “directly connected” to the other element or “electrically connected” to the other element through a third element. Further, unless explicitly described to the contrary, the word “comprise” will be understood to imply the inclusion of stated elements but not the exclusion of any other elements unless otherwise stated. Moreover, limitations such as “more than or equal to” or “less than or equal to” based on a specific threshold may be appropriately substituted with “more than” or “less than”, respectively, in some exemplary embodiments.

The following technology may be used in various wireless access systems, such as code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), single carrier-FDMA (SC-FDMA), and the like. The CDMA may be implemented by a wireless technology such as universal terrestrial radio access (UTRA) or CDMA2000. The TDMA may be implemented by a wireless technology such as global system for mobile communications (GSM)/general packet radio service (GPRS)/enhanced data rates for GSM evolution (EDGE). The OFDMA may be implemented by a wireless technology such as IEEE 802.11(Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16(WiMAX), IEEE 802-20, evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), and the like. The UTRA is a part of a universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS). 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) long term evolution (LTE) is a part of an evolved UMTS (E-UMTS) using evolved-UMTS terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA) and LTE-advanced (A) is an evolved version of the 3GPP LTE. 3GPP new radio (NR) is a system designed separately from LTE/LTE-A, and is a system for supporting enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable and low latency communication (URLLC), and massive machine type communication (mMTC) services, which are requirements of IMT-2020. For the clear description, 3GPP NR is mainly described, but the technical idea of the present invention is not limited thereto.

Unless otherwise specified in the present specification, a base station may include a next generation node B (gNB) defined in 3GPP NR. In addition, unless otherwise specified, the terminal may include user equipment (UE). Hereinafter, in order to help understanding the description, each content is divided into embodiments and described, but the respective embodiments may be used in combination with each other. In the present disclosure, the configuration of the terminal may indicate configuration by the base station. Specifically, the base station may transmit a channel or signal to the terminal to set an operation of the terminal or a parameter value used in a wireless communication system.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a wireless frame structure used in a wireless communication system.

Referring to FIG. 1, the wireless frame (or radio frame) used in the 3GPP NR system may have a length of 10 ms (Δf_(max)N_(f)/100)*T_(c)). In addition, the wireless frame includes 10 subframes (SFs) having equal sizes. Herein, Δf_(max)=480*10³ Hz, N_(t)=4096, T_(c)=1/(Δf_(ref)*N_(f,ref)), Δf_(ref)=15*10³ Hz, and N_(f,ref)=2048. Numbers from 0 to 9 may be respectively allocated to 10 subframes within one wireless frame. Each subframe has a length of 1 ms and may include one or more slots according to a subcarrier spacing. More specifically, in the 3GPP NR system, the subcarrier spacing that may be used is 15*2^(μ) kHz, and ρ can have a value of ρ=0, 1, 2, 3, 4 as subcarrier spacing configuration. That is, 15 kHz, 30 kHz, 60 kHz, 120 kHz and 240 kHz may be used for subcarrier spacing. One subframe having a length of 1 ms may include 2^(μ) slots. In this case, the length of each slot is 2^(−μ) ms. Numbers from 0 to 2^(μ)−1 may be respectively allocated to 2^(μ) slots within one wireless frame. In addition, numbers from 0 to 10*2^(μ)−1 may be respectively allocated to slots within one subframe. The time resource may be distinguished by at least one of a wireless frame number (also referred to as a wireless frame index), a subframe number (also referred to as a subframe index), and a slot number (or a slot index).

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a downlink (DL)/uplink (UL) slot structure in a wireless communication system. In particular, FIG. 2 shows the structure of the resource grid of the 3GPP NR system.

There is one resource grid per antenna port. Referring to FIG. 2, a slot includes a plurality of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols in a time domain and includes a plurality of resource blocks (RBs) in a frequency domain. An OFDM symbol also means one symbol section. Unless otherwise specified, OFDM symbols may be referred to simply as symbols. One RB includes 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain. Referring to FIG. 2, a signal transmitted from each slot may be represented by a resource grid including N^(size,) ^(Ξ) _(grid,x)*N^(RB) _(sc) subcarriers, and N^(slot) _(symb) OFDM symbols. Here, x=DL when the signal is a DL signal, and x=UL when the signal is an UL signal. N^(size,μ) _(grid,x) represents the number of resource blocks (RBs) according to the subcarrier spacing constituent μ (x is DL or UL), and N^(slot) _(symb) represents the number of OFDM symbols in a slot. N^(RB) _(sc) is the number of subcarriers constituting one RB and N^(RB) _(sc)=12. An OFDM symbol may be referred to as a cyclic shift OFDM (CP-OFDM) symbol or a discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) symbol according to a multiple access scheme.

The number of OFDM symbols included in one slot may vary according to the length of a cyclic prefix (CP). For example, in the case of a normal CP, one slot includes 14 OFDM symbols, but in the case of an extended CP, one slot may include 12 OFDM symbols. In a specific embodiment, the extended CP can only be used at 60 kHz subcarrier spacing. In FIG. 2, for convenience of description, one slot is configured with 14 OFDM symbols by way of example, but embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied in a similar manner to a slot having a different number of OFDM symbols. Referring to FIG. 2, each OFDM symbol includes N^(size,μ) _(grid,x)*N^(RB) _(sc) subcarriers in the frequency domain. The type of subcarrier may be divided into a data subcarrier for data transmission, a reference signal subcarrier for transmission of a reference signal, and a guard band. The carrier frequency is also referred to as the center frequency (fc).

One RB may be defined by N^(RB) _(sc) (e. g., 12) consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain. For reference, a resource configured with one OFDM symbol and one subcarrier may be referred to as a resource element (RE) or a tone. Therefore, one RB can be configured with N^(slot) _(symb)*N^(RB) _(sc) resource elements. Each resource element in the resource grid can be uniquely defined by a pair of indexes (k, l) in one slot. k may be an index assigned from 0 to N^(size,) ^(μ) _(grid,x)*N^(RB) _(sc)−1 in the frequency domain, and l may be an index assigned from 0 to N^(slot) _(symb)−1 in the time domain.

In order for the UE to receive a signal from the base station or to transmit a signal to the base station, the time/frequency of the UE may be synchronized with the time/frequency of the base station. This is because when the base station and the UE are synchronized, the UE can determine the time and frequency parameters necessary for demodulating the DL signal and transmitting the UL signal at the correct time.

Each symbol of a radio frame used in a time division duplex (TDD) or an unpaired spectrum may be configured with at least one of a DL symbol, an UL symbol, and a flexible symbol. A radio frame used as a DL carrier in a frequency division duplex (FDD) or a paired spectrum may be configured with a DL symbol or a flexible symbol, and a radio frame used as a UL carrier may be configured with a UL symbol or a flexible symbol. In the DL symbol, DL transmission is possible, but UL transmission is impossible. In the UL symbol, UL transmission is possible, but DL transmission is impossible. The flexible symbol may be determined to be used as a DL or an UL according to a signal.

Information on the type of each symbol, i.e., information representing any one of DL symbols, UL symbols, and flexible symbols, may be configured with a cell-specific or common radio resource control (RRC) signal. In addition, information on the type of each symbol may additionally be configured with a UE-specific or dedicated RRC signal. The base station informs, by using cell-specific RRC signals, i) the period of cell-specific slot configuration, ii) the number of slots with only DL symbols from the beginning of the period of cell-specific slot configuration, iii) the number of DL symbols from the first symbol of the slot immediately following the slot with only DL symbols, iv) the number of slots with only UL symbols from the end of the period of cell specific slot configuration, and v) the number of UL symbols from the last symbol of the slot immediately before the slot with only the UL symbol. Here, symbols not configured with any one of a UL symbol and a DL symbol are flexible symbols.

When the information on the symbol type is configured with the UE-specific RRC signal, the base station may signal whether the flexible symbol is a DL symbol or an UL symbol in the cell-specific RRC signal. In this case, the UE-specific RRC signal can not change a DL symbol or a UL symbol configured with the cell-specific RRC signal into another symbol type. The UE-specific RRC signal may signal the number of DL symbols among the N^(slot) _(symb) symbols of the corresponding slot for each slot, and the number of UL symbols among the N^(slot) _(symb) symbols of the corresponding slot. In this case, the DL symbol of the slot may be continuously configured with the first symbol to the i-th symbol of the slot. In addition, the UL symbol of the slot may be continuously configured with the j-th symbol to the last symbol of the slot (where i<j). In the slot, symbols not configured with any one of a UL symbol and a DL symbol are flexible symbols.

The type of symbol configured with the above RRC signal may be referred to as a semi-static DL/UL configuration. In the semi-static DL/UL configuration previously configured with RRC signals, the flexible symbol may be indicated as a DL symbol, an UL symbol, or a flexible symbol through dynamic slot format information (SFI) transmitted on a physical DL control channel (PDCCH). In this case, the DL symbol or UL symbol configured with the RRC signal is not changed to another symbol type. Table 1 exemplifies the dynamic SFI that the base station can indicate to the UE.

TABLE 1 Symbol number in a slot

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 0

1

2 X X X X X X X X X X X X X X 3

X 4

X X 5

X X X 6

X X X X 7

X X X X X 8 X X X X X X X X X X X X X

9 X X X X X X X X X X X X

10 X

11 X X

12 X X X

13 X X X X

14 X X X X X

15 X X X X X X

16

X X X X X X X X X X X X X 17

X X X X X X X X X X X X 18

X X X X X X X X X X X 19

X X X X X X X X X X X X

20

X X X X X X X X X X X

21

X X X X X X X X X X

22

X X X X X X X X X X X

23

X X X X X X X X X X

24

X X X X X X X X X

25

X X X X X X X X X X

26

X X X X X X X X X

27

X X X X X X X X

28

X

29

X X

30

X X X

31

X

32

X X

33

X X X

34

X

35

X

36

X

37

X X

38

X X

39

X X

40

X X X

41

X X X

42

X X X

43

X X X X

44

X X X X X X

45

X X

46

X

X

47

X

X

48

X

X

49

X X

X X

50

X X

X X

51

X X

X X

52

X X X X X

X X X X X

53

X X X X

X X X X

54 X X X X X X X

55

X X X

56~ 

Reserved

indicates data missing or illegible when filed

In Table 1, D denotes a DL symbol, U denotes a UL symbol, and X denotes a flexible symbol. As shown in Table 1, up to two DL/UL switching in one slot may be allowed.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a physical channel used in a 3GPP system (e.g., NR) and a typical signal transmission method using the physical channel.

If the power of the UE is turned on or the UE camps on a new cell, the UE performs an initial cell search (step S101). Specifically, the UE may synchronize with the BS in the initial cell search. For this, the UE may receive a primary synchronization signal (PSS) and a secondary synchronization signal (SSS) from the base station to synchronize with the base station, and obtain information such as a cell ID. Thereafter, the UE can receive the physical broadcast channel from the base station and obtain the broadcast information in the cell.

Upon completion of the initial cell search, the UE receives a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) according to the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and information in the PDCCH, so that the UE can obtain more specific system information than the system information obtained through the initial cell search (step S102). Herein, the system information received by the UE is cell-common system information for normal operating of the UE in a physical layer in radio resource control (RRC) and is referred to remaining system information, or system information block (SIB) 1 is called.

When the UE initially accesses the base station or does not have radio resources for signal transmission (i.e. the UE at RRC_IDLE mode), the UE may perform a random access procedure on the base station (steps S103 to S106). First, the UE can transmit a preamble through a physical random access channel (PRACH) (step S103) and receive a response message for the preamble from the base station through the PDCCH and the corresponding PDSCH (step S104). When a valid random access response message is received by the UE, the UE transmits data including the identifier of the UE and the like to the base station through a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) indicated by the UL grant transmitted through the PDCCH from the base station (step S105). Next, the UE waits for reception of the PDCCH as an indication of the base station for collision resolution. If the UE successfully receives the PDCCH through the identifier of the UE (step S106), the random access process is terminated. The UE may obtain UE-specific system information for normal operating of the UE in the physical layer in RRC layer during a random access process. When the UE obtain the UE-specific system information, the UE enter RRC connecting mode (RRC_CONNECTED mode).

The RRC layer is used for generating or managing message for controlling connection between the UE and radio access network (RAN). In more detail, the base station and the UE, in the RRC layer, may perform broadcasting cell system information required by every UE in the cell, managing mobility and handover, measurement report of the UE, storage management including UE capability management and device management. In general, the RRC signal is not changed and maintained quite long interval since a period of an update of a signal delivered in the RRC layer is longer than a transmission time interval (TTI) in physical layer.

After the above-described procedure, the UE receives PDCCH/PDSCH (step S107) and transmits a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH)/physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) (step S108) as a general UL/DL signal transmission procedure. In particular, the UE may receive downlink control information (DCI) through the PDCCH. The DCI may include control information such as resource allocation information for the UE. Also, the format of the DCI may vary depending on the intended use. The uplink control information (UCI) that the UE transmits to the base station through UL includes a DL/UL ACK/NACK signal, a channel quality indicator (CQI), a precoding matrix index (PMI), a rank indicator (RI), and the like. Here, the CQI, PMI, and R777I may be included in channel state information (CSI). In the 3GPP NR system, the UE may transmit control information such as HARQ-ACK and CSI described above through the PUSCH and/or PUCCH.

FIG. 4 illustrates an SS/PBCH block for initial cell access in a 3GPP NR system.

When the power is turned on or wanting to access a new cell, the UE may obtain time and frequency synchronization with the cell and perform an initial cell search procedure. The UE may detect a physical cell identity N^(cell) _(ID) of the cell during a cell search procedure. For this, the UE may receive a synchronization signal, for example, a primary synchronization signal (PSS) and a secondary synchronization signal (SSS), from a base station, and synchronize with the base station. In this case, the UE can obtain information such as a cell identity (ID).

Referring to FIG. 4(a), a synchronization signal (SS) will be described in more detail. The synchronization signal can be classified into PSS and SSS. The PSS may be used to obtain time domain synchronization and/or frequency domain synchronization, such as OFDM symbol synchronization and slot synchronization. The SSS can be used to obtain frame synchronization and cell group ID. Referring to FIG. 4(a) and Table 2, the SS/PBCH block can be configured with consecutive 20 RBs (=240 subcarriers) in the frequency axis, and can be configured with consecutive 4 OFDM symbols in the time axis. In this case, in the SS/PBCH block, the PSS is transmitted in the first OFDM symbol and the SSS is transmitted in the third OFDM symbol through the 56th to 182th subcarriers. Here, the lowest subcarrier index of the SS/PBCH block is numbered from 0. In the first OFDM symbol in which the PSS is transmitted, the base station does not transmit a signal through the remaining subcarriers, i.e., 0th to 55th and 183th to 239th subcarriers. In addition, in the third OFDM symbol in which the SSS is transmitted, the base station does not transmit a signal through 48th to 55th and 183th to 191th subcarriers. The base station transmits a physical broadcast channel (PBCH) through the remaining RE except for the above signal in the SS/PBCH block.

TABLE 2 OFDM symbol number/ Channel relative to the start of an SS/PBCH Subcarrier number k or signal block relative to the start of an SS/PBCH block PSS 0 56, 57, . . . , 182 SSS 2 56, 57, . . . , 182 Set to 0 0 0, 1, . . . , 55, 183, 184, . . . , 239 2 48, 49, . . . , 55, 183, 184, . . . , 191 PBCH 1, 3 0, 1, . . . , 239 2 0, 1, . . . , 47, 192, 193, . . . , 239 DM-RS for 1, 3 0 + v, 4 + v, 8 + v, . . . , 236 + v PBCH 2 0 + v, 4 + v, 8 + v, . . . , 44 + v 192 + v, 196 + v, . . . , 236 + v

The SS allows a total of 1008 unique physical layer cell IDs to be grouped into 336 physical-layer cell-identifier groups, each group including three unique identifiers, through a combination of three PSSs and SSSs, specifically, such that each physical layer cell ID is to be only a part of one physical-layer cell-identifier group. Therefore, the physical layer cell ID N^(cell) _(ID)=3N⁽¹⁾ _(ID)+N⁽²⁾ _(ID) can be uniquely defined by the index N⁽¹⁾ _(ID) ranging from 0 to 335 indicating a physical-layer cell-identifier group and the index N⁽²⁾ _(ID) ranging from 0 to 2 indicating a physical-layer identifier in the physical-layer cell-identifier group. The UE may detect the PSS and identify one of the three unique physical-layer identifiers. In addition, the UE can detect the SSS and identify one of the 336 physical layer cell IDs associated with the physical-layer identifier. In this case, the sequence d_(PSS)(n) of the PSS is as follows.

d _(PSS)(n)=1−2x(m)

m=(n+43N _(ID) ⁽²⁾)mod 127

0≤n<127

Here, x(i+7)=(x(i+4)+x(i))mod 2 and is given as

[x(6)x(5)x(4)x(3)x(2)x(1)x(0)]=[1110110]

Further, the sequence d_(SSS)(n) of the SSS is as follows.

$\begin{matrix} {{d_{SSS}(n)} = {\left\lbrack {1 - {2\;{x_{0}\left( {\left( {n + m_{0}} \right){mod}\; 127} \right)}}} \right\rbrack\left\lbrack {1 - {2\;{x_{1}\left( {\left( {n + m_{1}} \right){mod}\; 127} \right)}}} \right\rbrack}} \\ {m_{0} = {{15\left\lfloor \frac{N_{ID}^{(1)}}{112} \right\rfloor} + {5\; N_{ID}^{(2)}}}} \\ {m_{1} = {N_{ID}^{(1)}{mod}\; 112}} \end{matrix}$ 0 ≤ n < 127 x ₀(i+7)=(x ₀(i+4)+x ₀(i))mod 2

Here, x₁(i+7)=(x₁(a+1)+x₁(i))mod 2

and is given as

[x ₀(6)x ₀(5)x ₀(4)x ₀(3)x ₀(2)x ₀(1)x ₀(0)]=[00000001]

[x ₁(6)x ₁(5)x ₁(4)x ₁(3)x ₁(2)x ₁(1)x ₁(0)]=[0000001]

A radio frame with a 10 ms length may be divided into two half frames with a 5 ms length. Referring to FIG. 4(b), a description will be made of a slot in which SS/PBCH blocks are transmitted in each half frame. A slot in which the SS/PBCH block is transmitted may be any one of the cases A, B, C, D, and E. In the case A, the subcarrier spacing is 15 kHz and the starting time point of the SS/PBCH block is the ({2, 8}+14*n)-th symbol. In this case, n=0 or 1 at a carrier frequency of 3 GHz or less. In addition, it may be n=0, 1, 2, 3 at carrier frequencies above 3 GHz and below 6 GHz. In the case B, the subcarrier spacing is 30 kHz and the starting time point of the SS/PBCH block is {4, 8, 16, 20}+28*n. In this case, n=0 at a carrier frequency of 3 GHz or less. In addition, it may be n=0, 1 at carrier frequencies above 3 GHz and below 6 GHz. In the case C, the subcarrier spacing is 30 kHz and the starting time point of the SS/PBCH block is the ({2, 8}+14*n)-th symbol. In this case, n=0 or 1 at a carrier frequency of 3 GHz or less. In addition, it may be n=0, 1, 2, 3 at carrier frequencies above 3 GHz and below 6 GHz. In the case D, the subcarrier spacing is 120 kHz and the starting time point of the SS/PBCH block is the ({4, 8, 16, 20}+28*n)-th symbol. In this case, at a carrier frequency of 6 GHz or more, n=0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 2016, 17, 18. In the case E, the subcarrier spacing is 240 kHz and the starting time point of the SS/PBCH block is the ({8, 12, 16, 20, 32, 36, 40, 44}+56*n)-th symbol. In this case, at a carrier frequency of 6 GHz or more, n=0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8.

FIG. 5 illustrates a procedure for transmitting control information and a control channel in a 3GPP NR system. Referring to FIG. 5(a), the base station may add a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) masked (e.g., an XOR operation) with a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) to control information (e.g., downlink control information (DCI)) (step S202). The base station may scramble the CRC with an RNTI value determined according to the purpose/target of each control information. The common RNTI used by one or more UEs can include at least one of a system information RNTI (SI-RNTI), a paging RNTI (P-RNTI), a random access RNTI (RA-RNTI), and a transmit power control RNTI (TPC-RNTI). In addition, the UE-specific RNTI may include at least one of a cell temporary RNTI (C-RNTI), and the CS-RNTI. Thereafter, the base station may perform rate-matching (step S206) according to the amount of resource(s) used for PDCCH transmission after performing channel encoding (e.g., polar coding) (step S204). Thereafter, the base station may multiplex the DCI(s) based on the control channel element (CCE) based PDCCH structure (step S208). In addition, the base station may apply an additional process (step S210) such as scrambling, modulation (e.g., QPSK), interleaving, and the like to the multiplexed DCI(s), and then map the DCI(s) to the resource to be transmitted. The CCE is a basic resource unit for the PDCCH, and one CCE may include a plurality (e.g., six) of resource element groups (REGs). One REG may be configured with a plurality (e.g., 12) of REs. The number of CCEs used for one PDCCH may be defined as an aggregation level. In the 3GPP NR system, an aggregation level of 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 may be used. FIG. 5(b) is a diagram related to a CCE aggregation level and the multiplexing of a PDCCH and illustrates the type of a CCE aggregation level used for one PDCCH and CCE(s) transmitted in the control area according thereto.

FIG. 6 illustrates a control resource set (CORESET) in which a physical downlink control channel (PUCCH) may be transmitted in a 3GPP NR system.

The CORESET is a time-frequency resource in which PDCCH, that is, a control signal for the UE, is transmitted. In addition, a search space to be described later may be mapped to one CORESET. Therefore, the UE may monitor the time-frequency domain designated as CORESET instead of monitoring all frequency bands for PDCCH reception, and decode the PDCCH mapped to CORESET. The base station may configure one or more CORESETs for each cell to the UE. The CORESET may be configured with up to three consecutive symbols on the time axis. In addition, the CORESET may be configured in units of six consecutive PRBs on the frequency axis. In the embodiment of FIG. 5, CORESET#1 is configured with consecutive PRBs, and CORESET#2 and CORESET#3 are configured with discontinuous PRBs. The CORESET can be located in any symbol in the slot. For example, in the embodiment of FIG. 5, CORESET#1 starts at the first symbol of the slot, CORESET#2 starts at the fifth symbol of the slot, and CORESET#9 starts at the ninth symbol of the slot.

FIG. 7 illustrates a method for setting a PUCCH search space in a 3GPP NR system.

In order to transmit the PDCCH to the UE, each CORESET may have at least one search space. In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the search space is a set of all time-frequency resources (hereinafter, PDCCH candidates) through which the PDCCH of the UE is capable of being transmitted. The search space may include a common search space that the UE of the 3GPP NR is required to commonly search and a UE-specific or a UE-specific search space that a specific UE is required to search. In the common search space, UE may monitor the PDCCH that is set so that all UEs in the cell belonging to the same base station commonly search. In addition, the UE-specific search space may be set for each UE so that UEs monitor the PDCCH allocated to each UE at different search space position according to the UE. In the case of the UE-specific search space, the search space between the UEs may be partially overlapped and allocated due to the limited control area in which the PDCCH may be allocated. Monitoring the PDCCH includes blind decoding for PDCCH candidates in the search space. When the blind decoding is successful, it may be expressed that the PDCCH is (successfully) detected/received and when the blind decoding fails, it may be expressed that the PDCCH is not detected/not received, or is not successfully detected/received.

For convenience of explanation, a PDCCH scrambled with a group common (GC) RNTI previously known to one or more UEs so as to transmit DL control information to the one or more UEs is referred to as a group common (GC) PDCCH or a common PDCCH. In addition, a PDCCH scrambled with a specific-terminal RNTI that a specific UE already knows so as to transmit UL scheduling information or DL scheduling information to the specific UE is referred to as a specific-UE PDCCH. The common PDCCH may be included in a common search space, and the UE-specific PDCCH may be included in a common search space or a UE-specific PDCCH.

The base station may signal each UE or UE group through a PDCCH about information (i.e., DL Grant) related to resource allocation of a paging channel (PCH) and a downlink-shared channel (DL-SCH) that are a transmission channel or information (i.e., UL grant) related to resource allocation of a uplink-shared channel (UL-SCH) and a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARM). The base station may transmit the PCH transport block and the DL-SCH transport block through the PDSCH. The base station may transmit data excluding specific control information or specific service data through the PDSCH. In addition, the UE may receive data excluding specific control information or specific service data through the PDSCH.

The base station may include, in the PDCCH, information on to which UE (one or a plurality of UEs) PDSCH data is transmitted and how the PDSCH data is to be received and decoded by the corresponding UE, and transmit the PDCCH. For example, it is assumed that the DCI transmitted on a specific PDCCH is CRC masked with an RNTI of “A”, and the DCI indicates that PDSCH is allocated to a radio resource (e.g., frequency location) of “B” and indicates transmission format information (e.g., transport block size, modulation scheme, coding information, etc.) of “C”. The UE monitors the PDCCH using the RNTI information that the UE has. In this case, if there is a UE which performs blind decoding the PDCCH using the “A” RNTI, the UE receives the PDCCH, and receives the PDSCH indicated by “B” and “C” through the received PDCCH information.

Table 3 shows an embodiment of a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) used in a wireless communication system.

TABLE 3 PUCCH format Length in OFDM symbols Number of bits 0 1-2 ≤2 1  4-14 ≤2 2 1-2 >2 3  4-14 >2 4  4-14 >2

The PUCCH may be used to transmit the following UL control information (UCI).

-   -   Scheduling Request (SR): Information used for requesting a UL         UL-SCH resource.         -   HARQ-ACK: A Response to PDCCH (indicating DL SPS release)             and/or a response to DL transport block (TB) on PDSCH.             HARQ-ACK indicates whether information successfully             transmitted on the PDCCH or PDSCH is received. The HARQ-ACK             response includes positive ACK (simply ACK), negative ACK             (hereinafter NACK), Discontinuous Transmission (DTX), or             NACK/DTX. Here, the term HARQ-ACK is used mixed with             HARQ-ACK/NACK and ACK/NACK. In general, ACK may be             represented by bit value 1 and NACK may be represented by             bit value 0.         -   Channel State Information (CSI): Feedback information on the             DL channel. The UE generates it based on the CSI-Reference             Signal (RS) transmitted by the base station. Multiple Input             Multiple Output (MIMO)-related feedback information includes             a Rank Indicator (RI) and a Precoding Matrix Indicator             (PMI). CSI can be divided into CSI part 1 and CSI part 2             according to the information indicated by CSI.

In the 3GPP NR system, five PUCCH formats may be used to support various service scenarios, various channel environments, and frame structures.

PUCCH format 0 is a format capable of delivering 1-bit or 2-bit HARQ-ACK information or SR. PUCCH format 0 can be transmitted through one or two OFDM symbols on the time axis and one PRB on the frequency axis. When PUCCH format 0 is transmitted in two OFDM symbols, the same sequence on the two symbols may be transmitted through different RBs. In this case, the sequence may be a sequence cyclic shifted (CS) from a base sequence used in PUCCH format 0. Through this, the UE may obtain a frequency diversity gain. In more detail, the UE may determine a cyclic shift (CS) value m_(cs) according to M_(bit) bit UCI (M_(bit)=1 or 2). In addition, the base sequence having the length of 12 may be transmitted by mapping a cyclic shifted sequence based on a predetermined CS value m_(cs) to one OFDM symbol and 12 REs of one RB. When the number of cyclic shifts available to the UE is 12 and M_(bit)=1, 1 bit UCI 0 and 1 may be mapped to two cyclic shifted sequences having a difference of 6 in the cyclic shift value, respectively. In addition, when M_(bit=)2, 2 bit UCI 00, 01, 11, and 10 may be mapped to four cyclic shifted sequences having a difference of 3 in cyclic shift values, respectively.

PUCCH format 1 may deliver 1-bit or 2-bit HARQ-ACK information or SR. PUCCH format 1 maybe transmitted through consecutive OFDM symbols on the time axis and one PRB on the frequency axis. Here, the number of OFDM symbols occupied by PUCCH format 1 may be one of 4 to 14. More specifically, UCI, which is M_(bit)=1, may be BPSK-modulated. The UE may modulate UCI, which is M_(bit)=2, with quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK). A signal is obtained by multiplying a modulated complex valued symbol d(0) by a sequence of length 12. In this case, the sequence may be a base sequence used for PUCCH format 0. The UE spreads the even-numbered OFDM symbols to which PUCCH format 1 is allocated through the time axis orthogonal cover code (OCC) to transmit the obtained signal. PUCCH format 1 determines the maximum number of different UEs multiplexed in the one RB according to the length of the OCC to be used. A demodulation reference signal (DMRS) may be spread with OCC and mapped to the odd-numbered OFDM symbols of PUCCH format 1.

PUCCH format 2 may deliver UCI exceeding 2 bits. PUCCH format 2 may be transmitted through one or two OFDM symbols on the time axis and one or a plurality of RB s on the frequency axis. When PUCCH format 2 is transmitted in two OFDM symbols, the sequences which are transmitted in different RB s through the two OFDM symbols may be same each other. Here, the sequence may be a plurality of modulated complex valued symbols d(0), . . . , d(M_(symbol)−1). Here, M_(symbol) may be M_(bit)/2. Through this, the UE may obtain a frequency diversity gain. More specifically, M_(bit) bit UCI (M_(bit)>2) is bit-level scrambled, QPSK modulated, and mapped to RB(s) of one or two OFDM symbol(s). Here, the number of RBs may be one of 1 to 16.

PUCCH format 3 or PUCCH format 4 may deliver UCI exceeding 2 bits. PUCCH format 3 or PUCCH format 4 may be transmitted through consecutive OFDM symbols on the time axis and one PRB on the frequency axis. The number of OFDM symbols occupied by PUCCH format 3 or PUCCH format 4 may be one of 4 to 14. Specifically, the UE modulates M_(bit) bits UCI (M_(bit)>2) with π/2-Binary Phase Shift Keying (BPSK) or QPSK to generate a complex valued symbol d(0) to d(M_(symb)−1). Here, when using π/2-BPSK, M_(symb)=W_(bit), and when using QPSK, M_(symb)=M_(bit)/2. The UE may not apply block-unit spreading to the PUCCH format 3. However, the UE may apply block-unit spreading to one RB (i.e., 12 subcarriers) using PreDFT-OCC of a length of 12 such that PUCCH format 4 may have two or four multiplexing capacities. The UE performs transmit precoding (or DFT-precoding) on the spread signal and maps it to each RE to transmit the spread signal.

In this case, the number of RBs occupied by PUCCH format 2, PUCCH format 3, or PUCCH format 4 may be determined according to the length and maximum code rate of the UCI transmitted by the UE. When the UE uses PUCCH format 2, the UE may transmit HARQ-ACK information and CSI information together through the PUCCH. When the number of RBs that the UE may transmit is greater than the maximum number of RBs that PUCCH format 2, or PUCCH format 3, or PUCCH format 4 may use, the UE may transmit only the remaining UCI information without transmitting some UCI information according to the priority of the UCI information.

PUCCH format 1, PUCCH format 3, or PUCCH format 4 may be configured through the RRC signal to indicate frequency hopping in a slot. When frequency hopping is configured, the index of the RB to be frequency hopped may be configured with an RRC signal. When PUCCH format 1, PUCCH format 3, or PUCCH format 4 is transmitted through N OFDM symbols on the time axis, the first hop may have floor (N/2) OFDM symbols and the second hop may have ceiling (N/2) OFDM symbols.

PUCCH format 1, PUCCH format 3, or PUCCH format 4 may be configured to be repeatedly transmitted in a plurality of slots. In this case, the number K of slots in which the PUCCH is repeatedly transmitted may be configured by the RRC signal. The repeatedly transmitted PUCCHs must start at an OFDM symbol of the constant position in each slot, and have the constant length. When one OFDM symbol among OFDM symbols of a slot in which a UE should transmit a PUCCH is indicated as a DL symbol by an RRC signal, the UE may not transmit the PUCCH in a corresponding slot and delay the transmission of the PUCCH to the next slot to transmit the PUCCH.

Meanwhile, in the 3GPP NR system, a UE may perform transmission/reception using a bandwidth equal to or less than the bandwidth of a carrier (or cell). For this, the UE may receive the Bandwidth part (BWP) configured with a continuous bandwidth of some of the carrier's bandwidth. A UE operating according to TDD or operating in an unpaired spectrum can receive up to four DL/UL BWP pairs in one carrier (or cell). In addition, the UE may activate one DL/UL BWP pair. A UE operating according to FDD or operating in paired spectrum can receive up to four DL BWPs on a DL carrier (or cell) and up to four UL BWPs on a UL carrier (or cell). The UE may activate one DL BWP and one UL BWP for each carrier (or cell). The UE may not perform reception or transmission in a time-frequency resource other than the activated BWP. The activated BWP may be referred to as an active BWP.

The base station may indicate the activated BWP among the BWPs configured by the UE through downlink control information (DCI). The BWP indicated through the DCI is activated and the other configured BWP(s) are deactivated. In a carrier (or cell) operating in TDD, the base station may include, in the DCI for scheduling PDSCH or PUSCH, a bandwidth part indicator (BPI) indicating the BWP to be activated to change the DL/UL BWP pair of the UE. The UE may receive the DCI for scheduling the PDSCH or PUSCH and may identify the DL/UL BWP pair activated based on the BPI. For a DL carrier (or cell) operating in an FDD, the base station may include a BPI indicating the BWP to be activated in the DCI for scheduling PDSCH so as to change the DL BWP of the UE. For a UL carrier (or cell) operating in an FDD, the base station may include a BPI indicating the BWP to be activated in the DCI for scheduling PUSCH so as to change the UL BWP of the UE.

FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram illustrating carrier aggregation.

The carrier aggregation is a method in which the UE uses a plurality of frequency blocks or cells (in the logical sense) configured with UL resources (or component carriers) and/or DL resources (or component carriers) as one large logical frequency band in order for a wireless communication system to use a wider frequency band. One component carrier may also be referred to as a term called a Primary cell (PCell) or a Secondary cell (SCell), or a Primary SCell (PScell). However, hereinafter, for convenience of description, the term “component carrier” is used.

Referring to FIG. 8, as an example of a 3GPP NR system, the entire system band may include up to 16 component carriers, and each component carrier may have a bandwidth of up to 400 MHz. The component carrier may include one or more physically consecutive subcarriers. Although it is shown in FIG. 8 that each of the component carriers has the same bandwidth, this is merely an example, and each component carrier may have a different bandwidth. Also, although each component carrier is shown as being adjacent to each other in the frequency axis, the drawings are shown in a logical concept, and each component carrier may be physically adjacent to one another, or may be spaced apart.

Different center frequencies may be used for each component carrier. Also, one common center frequency may be used in physically adjacent component carriers. Assuming that all the component carriers are physically adjacent in the embodiment of FIG. 8, center frequency A may be used in all the component carriers. Further, assuming that the respective component carriers are not physically adjacent to each other, center frequency A and the center frequency B can be used in each of the component carriers.

When the total system band is extended by carrier aggregation, the frequency band used for communication with each UE can be defined in units of a component carrier. UE A may use 100 MHz, which is the total system band, and performs communication using all five component carriers. UEs B₁˜B₅ can use only a 20 MHz bandwidth and perform communication using one component carrier. UEs C₁ and C₂ may use a 40 MHz bandwidth and perform communication using two component carriers, respectively. The two component carriers may be logically/physically adjacent or non-adjacent. UE C₁ represents the case of using two non-adjacent component carriers, and UE C₂ represents the case of using two adjacent component carriers.

FIG. 9 is a drawing for explaining single carrier communication and multiple carrier communication. Particularly, FIG. 9(a) shows a single carrier subframe structure and FIG. 9(b) shows a multi-carrier subframe structure.

Referring to FIG. 9(a), in an FDD mode, a general wireless communication system may perform data transmission or reception through one DL band and one UL band corresponding thereto. In another specific embodiment, in a TDD mode, the wireless communication system may divide a radio frame into a UL time unit and a DL time unit in a time domain, and perform data transmission or reception through a UL/DL time unit. Referring to FIG. 9(b), three 20 MHz component carriers (CCs) can be aggregated into each of UL and DL, so that a bandwidth of 60 MHz can be supported. Each CC may be adjacent or non-adjacent to one another in the frequency domain. FIG. 9(b) shows a case where the bandwidth of the UL CC and the bandwidth of the DL CC are the same and symmetric, but the bandwidth of each CC can be determined independently. In addition, asymmetric carrier aggregation with different number of UL CCs and DL CCs is possible. A DL/UL CC allocated/configured to a specific UE through RRC may be called as a serving DL/UL CC of the specific UE.

The base station may perform communication with the UE by activating some or all of the serving CCs of the UE or deactivating some CCs. The base station can change the CC to be activated/deactivated, and change the number of CCs to be activated/deactivated. If the base station allocates a CC available for the UE as to be cell-specific or UE-specific, at least one of the allocated CCs can be deactivated, unless the CC allocation for the UE is completely reconfigured or the UE is handed over. One CC that is not deactivated by the UE is called as a Primary CC (PCC) or a primary cell (PCell), and a CC that the base station can freely activate/deactivate is called as a Secondary CC (SCC) or a secondary cell (SCell).

Meanwhile, 3GPP NR uses the concept of a cell to manage radio resources. A cell is defined as a combination of DL resources and UL resources, that is, a combination of DL CC and UL CC. A cell may be configured with DL resources alone, or a combination of DL resources and UL resources. When the carrier aggregation is supported, the linkage between the carrier frequency of the DL resource (or DL CC) and the carrier frequency of the UL resource (or UL CC) may be indicated by system information. The carrier frequency refers to the center frequency of each cell or CC. A cell corresponding to the PCC is referred to as a PCell, and a cell corresponding to the SCC is referred to as an SCell. The carrier corresponding to the PCell in the DL is the DL PCC, and the carrier corresponding to the PCell in the UL is the UL PCC. Similarly, the carrier corresponding to the SCell in the DL is the DL SCC and the carrier corresponding to the SCell in the UL is the UL SCC. According to UE capability, the serving cell(s) may be configured with one PCell and zero or more SCells. In the case of UEs that are in the RRC_CONNECTED state but not configured for carrier aggregation or that do not support carrier aggregation, there is only one serving cell configured only with PCell.

As mentioned above, the term “cell” used in carrier aggregation is distinguished from the term “cell” which refers to a certain geographical area in which a communication service is provided by one base station or one antenna group. That is, one component carrier may also be referred to as a scheduling cell, a scheduled cell, a primary cell (PCell), a secondary cell (SCell), or a primary SCell (PScell). However, in order to distinguish between a cell referring to a certain geographical area and a cell of carrier aggregation, in the present disclosure, a cell of a carrier aggregation is referred to as a CC, and a cell of a geographical area is referred to as a cell.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example in which a cross carrier scheduling technique is applied. When cross carrier scheduling is set, the control channel transmitted through the first CC may schedule a data channel transmitted through the first CC or the second CC using a carrier indicator field (CIF). The CIF is included in the DCI. In other words, a scheduling cell is set, and the DL grant/UL grant transmitted in the PDCCH area of the scheduling cell schedules the PDSCH/PUSCH of the scheduled cell. That is, a search area for the plurality of component carriers exists in the PDCCH area of the scheduling cell. A PCell may be basically a scheduling cell, and a specific SCell may be designated as a scheduling cell by an upper layer.

In the embodiment of FIG. 10, it is assumed that three DL CCs are merged. Here, it is assumed that DL component carrier #0 is DL PCC (or PCell), and DL component carrier #1 and DL component carrier #2 are DL SCCs (or SCell). In addition, it is assumed that the DL PCC is set to the PDCCH monitoring CC. When cross-carrier scheduling is not configured by UE-specific (or UE-group-specific or cell-specific) higher layer signaling, a CIF is disabled, and each DL CC can transmit only a PDCCH for scheduling its PDSCH without the CIF according to an NR PDCCH rule (non-cross-carrier scheduling, self-carrier scheduling). Meanwhile, if cross-carrier scheduling is configured by UE-specific (or UE-group-specific or cell-specific) higher layer signaling, a CIF is enabled, and a specific CC (e.g., DL PCC) may transmit not only the PDCCH for scheduling the PDSCH of the DL CC A using the CIF but also the PDCCH for scheduling the PDSCH of another CC (cross-carrier scheduling). On the other hand, a PDCCH is not transmitted in another DL CC. Accordingly, the UE monitors the PDCCH not including the CIF to receive a self-carrier scheduled PDSCH depending on whether the cross-carrier scheduling is configured for the UE, or monitors the PDCCH including the CIF to receive the cross-carrier scheduled PDSCH.

On the other hand, FIGS. 9 and 10 illustrate the subframe structure of the 3GPP LTE-A system, and the same or similar configuration may be applied to the 3GPP NR system. However, in the 3GPP NR system, the subframes of FIGS. 9 and 10 may be replaced with slots.

FIG. 11 illustrates a code block group (CBG) configuration and time frequency resource mapping thereof according to an embodiment of the present invention. More specifically, FIG. 11(a) illustrates an embodiment of a CBG configuration included in one transport block (TB), and FIG. 11(b) illustrates a time-frequency resource mapping of the CBG configuration.

A channel code defines the maximum supported length. For example, the maximum supported length of the turbo code used in 3GPP LTE (-A) is 6144 bits. However, the length of a transport block (TB) transmitted on the PDSCH may be longer than 6144 bits. If the length of the TB is longer than the maximum supported length, the TB may be divided into code blocks (CBs) having a maximum length of 6144 bits. Each CB is a unit in which channel coding is performed. Additionally, for efficient retransmission, several CBs may be grouped to configure one CBG. The UE and the base station require information on how the CBG is configured.

The CBG and the CB within the TB may be configured according to various embodiments. According to an embodiment, the number of available CBGs may be determined as a fixed value, or may be configured with RRC configuration information between the base station and the UE. In this case, the number of CBs is determined with the length of the TB, and the CBG may be configured depending on the information on the determined number. According to another embodiment, the number of CBs to be included in one CBG may be determined as a fixed value, or may be configured with RRC configuration information between the base station and the UE. In this case, if the number of CBs is determined with the length of the TB, the number of the CBGs may be configured depending on the information on the number of CBs per CBG.

Referring to the embodiment of FIG. 11(a), one TB may be divided into eight CBs. Eight CBs may be grouped into four CBGs again. The mapping relationship between the CBs and the CBGs (or CBG configuration) may be configured as static between the base station and the UE, or may be established as semi-static with RRC configuration information. According to another embodiment, the mapping relationship may be configured through dynamic signaling. When the UE receives the PDCCH transmitted by the base station, the UE may directly or indirectly identify the mapping relationship between the CB and the CBG (or CBG configuration) through explicit information and/or implicit information. One CBG may include only one CB, or may include all CBs constituting one TB. For reference, the techniques presented in the embodiments of the present invention may be applied regardless of the configuration of the CB and the CBG.

Referring to FIG. 11(b), CBGs constituting one TB are mapped to time-frequency resources for which the PDSCH is scheduled. According to an embodiment, each of the CBGs may be allocated first on the frequency axis and then extended on the time axis. When a PDSCH consisting of one TB including four CBGs is allocated to seven OFDM symbols, CBG0 may be transmitted over the first and second OFDM symbols, CBG1 may be transmitted over the second, third, and fourth OFDM symbols, CBG2 may be transmitted over the fourth, fifth, and sixth OFDM symbols, and CBG3 may be transmitted over the sixth and seventh OFDM symbols. The time-frequency mapping relationship allocated with the CBG and PDSCH may be determined between the base station and the UE. However, the mapping relationship illustrated in FIG. 11(b) is an embodiment for describing the present invention, and the techniques presented in the embodiment of the present invention may be applied regardless of the time-frequency mapping relationship of the CBG.

FIG. 12 illustrates a procedure in which a base station performs a TB-based transmission or a CBG-based transmission, and a UE transmits a HARQ-ACK in response thereto. Referring to FIG. 12, the base station may configure a transmission scheme suitable for the UE of the TB-based transmission and the CBG-based transmission. The UE may transmit HARQ-ACK information bit(s) according to the transmission scheme configured by the base station through the PUCCH or PUSCH. The base station may configure the PDCCH to schedule the PDSCH to be transmitted to the UE. The PDCCH may schedule the TB-based transmission and/or the CBG-based transmission. For example, one TB or two TBs may be scheduled on the PDCCH. If one TB is scheduled, the UE has to feedback 1-bit HARQ-ACK. If two TBs are scheduled, a 2-bit HARQ-ACK has to be fed back for each of the two TBs. In order to eliminate ambiguity between the base station and the UE, a predetermined order may exist between each information bit of the 2-bit HARQ-ACK and two TBs. For reference, when the MIMO transmission rank or layer is low, one TB may be transmitted on one PDSCH, and when the MIMO transmission rank or layer is high, two TBs may be transmitted on one PDSCH.

The UE may transmit a 1-bit TB-based HARQ-ACK per one TB to inform the base station whether or not the reception of each TB is successful. In order to generate a HARQ-ACK for one TB, the UE may check the reception error of the TB through a TB-CRC. When the TB-CRC for the TB is successfully checked, the UE generates an ACK for the HARQ-ACK of the TB. However, if a TB-CRC error for the TB occurs, the UE generates a NACK for the HARQ-ACK of the TB. The UE transmits TB-based HARQ-ACK(s) generated as described above to the base station. The base station retransmits the TB of response with a NACK, among the TB-based HARQ-ACK(s) received from the UE.

In addition, the UE may transmit a 1-bit CBG-based HARQ-ACK per one CBG to inform the base station whether or not the reception of each CBG is successful. In order to generate a HARQ-ACK for one CBG, the UE may decode all CBs included in the CBG and check the reception error of each CB through the CB-CRC. When the UE successfully receives all CBs constituting one CBG (that is, when all CB-CRCs are successfully checked), the UE generates an ACK for the HARQ-ACK of the CBG. However, when the UE does not successfully receive at least one of the CBs constituting one CBG (that is, when at least one CB-CRC error occurs), the UE generates a NACK for the HARQ-ACK of the CBG. The UE transmits the CBG-based HARQ-ACK(s) generated as described above to the base station. The base station retransmits the CBG of response with a NACK, among the CBG-based HARQ-ACK(s) received from the UB. According to an embodiment, the CB configuration of the retransmitted CBG may be the same as the CB configuration of the previously transmitted CBG. The length of the CBG-based HARQ-ACK information bit(s) transmitted by the UE to the base station may be determined based on the number of CBGs transmitted through the PDSCH or the maximum number of CBGs configured with RRC signals.

On the other hand, even when the UE successfully receives all the CBGs included in the TB, a TB-CRC error for the TB may occur. In this case, the UE may perform flipping of the CBG-based HARQ-ACK in order to request retransmission for the TB. That is, even though all CBGs included in the TB are successfully received, the UE may generate all of the CBG-based HARQ-ACK information bits as NACKs. Upon receiving the CBG-based HARQ-ACK feedback in which all HARQ-ACK information bits are NACKs, the base station retransmits all CBGs of the TB.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, CBG-based HARQ-ACK feedback may be used for the successful transmission of the TB. The base station may indicate the UE to transmit a CBG-based HARQ-ACK. In this case, a retransmission technique according to the CBG-based HARQ-ACK may be used. The CBG-based HARQ-ACK may be transmitted through a PUCCH. In addition, when the UCI is configured to be transmitted through the PUSCH, the CBG-based HARQ-ACK may be transmitted through the PUSCH. In the PUCCH, the configuration of the HARQ-ACK resource may be configured through an RRC signal. In addition, an actually transmitted HARQ-ACK resource may be indicated through a PDCCH scheduling a PDSCH transmitted based on the CBG. The UE may transmit HARQ-ACK(s) for whether or not the reception of transmitted CBGs is transmitted, through one PUCCH resource indicated through the PDCCH among PUCCH resources configured with RRC.

The base station may identify whether the UE has successfully received the CBG(s) transmitted to the UE through CBG-based HARQ-ACK feedback of the UE. That is, through the HARQ-ACK for each CBG received from the UE, the base station may recognize the CBG(s) that the UE has successfully received and the CBG(s) that the UE has failed to receive. The base station may perform CBG retransmission based on the received CBG-based HARQ-ACK. More specifically, the base station may bundle and retransmit only the CBG(s) of HARQ-ACKs of response with failure, in one TB. In this case, the CBG(s) for which the HARQ-ACKs is responded with successful reception are excluded from retransmission. The base station may schedule the retransmitted CBG(s) as one PDSCH and transmit it to the UE.

<Communication Method in Unlicensed Band>

FIG. 13 illustrates a New Radio-Unlicensed (NR-U) service environment.

Referring to FIG. 13, a service environment in which NR technology 11 in the existing licensed band and NR-Unlicensed (NR-U), i.e., NR technology 12 in the unlicensed band may be provide to the user. For example, in the NR-U environment, NR technology 11 in the licensed band and the NR technology 12 in the unlicensed band may be integrated using technologies such as carrier aggregation which may contribute to network capacity expansion. In addition, in an asymmetric traffic structure with more downlink data than uplink data, NR-U can provide an NR service optimized for various needs or environments. For convenience, the NR technology in the licensed band is referred to as NR-L (NR-Licensed), and the NR technology in the unlicensed band is referred to as NR-U (NR-Unlicensed).

FIG. 14 illustrates a deployment scenario of a user equipment and a base station in an NR-U service environment. A frequency band targeted by the NR-U service environment has short radio communication range due to the high frequency characteristics. Considering this, the deployment scenario of the user equipment and the base station may be an overlay model or a co-located model in an environment in which coexist the existing NR-L service and NR-U service.

In the overlay model, a macro base station may perform wireless communication with an X UE and an X′ UE in a macro area (32) by using a licensed carrier and be connected with multiple radio remote heads (RRHs) through an X2 interface. Each RRH may perform wireless communication with an X UE or an X′ UE in a predetermined area (31) by using an unlicensed carrier. The frequency bands of the macro base station and the RRH are different from each other not to interfere with each other, but data needs to be rapidly exchanged between the macro base station and the RRH through the X2 interface in order to use the NR-U service as an auxiliary downlink channel of the NR-L service through the carrier aggregation.

In the co-located model, a pico/femto base station may perform the wireless communication with a Y UE by using both the licensed carrier and the unlicensed carrier. However, it may be limited that the pico/femto base station uses both the NR-L service and the NR-U service to downlink transmission. A coverage (33) of the NR-L service and a coverage (34) of the NR-U service may be different according to the frequency band, transmission power, and the like.

When NR communication is performed in the unlicensed band, conventional equipments (e.g., wireless LAN (Wi-Fi) equipments) which perform communication in the corresponding unlicensed band may not demodulate an NR-U message or data. Therefore, conventional equipments determine the NR-U message or data as a kind of energy to perform an interference avoidance operation by an energy detection technique. That is, when energy corresponding to the NR-U message or data is lower than −62 dBm or certain energy detection (ED) threshold value, the wireless LAN equipments may perform communication by disregarding the corresponding message or data. As a result, that user equipment which performs the NR communication in the unlicensed band may be frequently interfered by the wireless LAN equipments.

Therefore, a specific frequency band needs to be allocated or reserved for a specific time in order to effectively implement an NR-U technology/service. However, since peripheral equipments which perform communication through the unlicensed band attempt access based on the energy detection technique, there is a problem in that an efficient NR-U service is difficult. Therefore, a research into a coexistence scheme with the conventional unlicensed band device and a scheme for efficiently sharing a radio channel needs to be preferentially made in order to settle the NR-U technology. That is, a robust coexistence mechanism in which the NR-U device does not influence the conventional unlicensed band device needs to be developed.

FIG. 15 illustrates a conventional communication scheme (e.g., wireless LAN) operating in an unlicensed band. Since most devices that operate in the unlicensed band operate based on listen-before-talk (LBT), a clear channel assessment (CCA) technique that senses a channel before data transmission is performed.

Referring to FIG. 15, a wireless LAN device (e.g., AP or STA) checks whether the channel is busy by performing carrier sensing before transmitting data. When a predetermined strength or more of radio signal is sensed in a channel to transmit data, it is determined that the corresponding channel is busy and the wireless LAN device delays the access to the corresponding channel. Such a process is referred to as clear channel evaluation and a signal level to decide whether the signal is sensed is referred to as a CCA threshold. Meanwhile, when the radio signal is not sensed in the corresponding channel or a radio signal having a strength smaller than the CCA threshold is sensed, it is determined that the channel is idle.

When it is determined that the channel is idle, a terminal having data to be transmitted performs a backoff procedure after a defer duration (e.g., arbitration interframe space (AIFS), PCF IFS (PIFS), or the like). The defer duration represents a minimum time when the terminal needs to wait after the channel is idle. The backoff procedure allows the terminal to further wait for a predetermined time after the defer duration. For example, the terminal stands by while decreasing a slot time for slot times corresponding to a random number allocated to the terminal in the contention window (CW) during the channel is idle, and a terminal that completely exhausts the slot time may attempt to access the corresponding channel.

When the terminal successfully accesses the channel, the terminal may transmit data through the channel. When the data is successfully transmitted, a CW size (CWS) is reset to an initial value (CWmin). On the contrary, when the data is unsuccessfully transmitted, the CWS increases twice. As a result, the terminal is allocated with a new random number within a range which is twice larger than a previous random number range to perform the backoff procedure in a next CW. In the wireless LAN, only an ACK is defined as receiving response information to the data transmission. Therefore, when the ACK is received with respect to the data transmission, the CWS is reset to the initial value and when feed-back information is not received with respect to the data transmission, the CWS increases twice.

As described above, since the existing communication in the unlicensed band mostly operates based on LBT, a channel access in the NR-U system also performs LBT for coexistence with existing devices. Specifically, the channel access method on the unlicensed band in the NR may be classified into the following four categories according to the presence/absence of LBT/application method.

-   -   Category 1: No LBT     -   The Tx entity does not perform the LBT procedure for         transmission.     -   Category 2: LBT without Random Backoff     -   The Tx entity senses whether a channel is idle during a first         interval without random backoff to perform a transmission. That         is, the Tx entity may perform a transmission through the channel         immediately after the channel is sensed to be idle during the         first interval. The first interval is an interval of a         predetermined length immediately before the Tx entity performs         the transmission. According to an embodiment, the first interval         may be an interval of 25 μs length, but the present invention is         not limited thereto.     -   Category 3: LBT Performing Random Backoff Using CW of Fixed Size     -   The Tx entity obtains a random value within the CW of the fixed         size, sets it to an initial value of a backoff counter (or         backoff timer) N, and performs backoff by using the set backoff         counter N. That is, in the backoff procedure, the Tx entity         decreases the backoff counter by 1 whenever the channel is         sensed to be idle for a predetermined slot period. Here, the         predetermined slot period may be 9 μs, but the present invention         is not limited thereto. The backoff counter N is decreased by 1         from the initial value, and when the value of the backoff         counter N reaches 0, the Tx entity may perform the transmission.         Meanwhile, in order to perform backoff, the Tx entity first         senses whether the channel is idle during a second interval         (that is, a defer duration T_(d)). According to an embodiment of         the present invention, the Tx entity may sense (determine)         whether the channel is idle during the second interval,         according to whether the channel is idle for at least some         period (e.g., one slot period) within the second interval. The         second interval may be set based on the channel access priority         class of the Tx entity, and consists of a period of 16 μs and m         consecutive slot periods. Here, m is a value set according to         the channel access priority class. The Tx entity performs         channel sensing to decrease the backoff counter when the channel         is sensed to be idle during the second interval. On the other         hand, when the channel is sensed to be busy during the backoff         procedure, the backoff procedure is stopped. After stopping the         backoff procedure, the Tx entity may resume backoff when the         channel is sensed to be idle for an additional second interval.         In this way, the Tx entity may perform the transmission when the         channel is idle during the slot period of the backoff counter N,         in addition to the second interval. In this case, the initial         value of the backoff counter N is obtained within the CW of the         fixed size.     -   Category 4: LBT Performing Random Backoff by Using CW of         Variable Size     -   The Tx entity obtains a random value within the CW of a variable         size, sets the random value to an initial value of a backoff         counter (or backoff timer) N, and performs backoff by using the         set backoff counter N. More specifically, the Tx entity may         adjust the size of the CW based on HARQ-ACK information for the         previous transmission, and the initial value of the backoff         counter N is obtained within the CW of the adjusted size. A         specific process of performing backoff by the Tx entity is as         described in Category 3. The Tx entity may perform the         transmission when the channel is idle during the slot period of         the backoff counter N, in addition to the second interval. In         this case, the initial value of the backoff counter N is         obtained within the CW of the variable size.

In the above Category 1 to Category 4, the Tx entity may be a base station or a UE. According to an embodiment of the present invention, a first type channel access may refer to a Category 4 channel access, and a second type channel access may refer to a Category 2 channel access.

FIG. 16 illustrates a channel access procedure based on Category 4 LBT according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In order to perform the channel access, first, the Tx entity performs channel sensing for the defer duration T_(d) (step S302). According to an embodiment of the present invention, the channel sensing for a defer duration T_(d) in step S302 may be performed through channel sensing for at least a portion of the defer duration T_(d). For example, the channel sensing for the defer duration T_(d) may be performed through the channel sensing during one slot period within the defer duration T_(d). The Tx entity checks whether the channel is idle through the channel sensing for the defer duration T_(d) (step S304). If the channel is sensed to be idle for the defer duration T_(d), the Tx entity proceeds to step S306. If the channel is not sensed to be idle for the defer duration T_(d) (that is, sensed to be busy), the Tx entity returns to step S302. The Tx entity repeats steps S302 to S304 until the channel is sensed to be idle for the defer duration T_(d). The defer duration T_(d) may be set based on the channel access priority class of the Tx entity, and consists of a period of 16 μs and m consecutive slot periods. Here, m is a value set according to the channel access priority class.

Next, the Tx entity obtains a random value within a predetermined CW, sets the random value to the initial value of the backoff counter (or backoff timer) N (step S306), and proceeds to step S308. The initial value of the backoff counter N is randomly selected from values between 0 and CW. The Tx entity performs the backoff procedure by using the set backoff counter N. That is, the Tx entity performs the backoff procedure by repeating steps S308 to S316 until the value of the backoff counter N reaches 0. Meanwhile, FIG. 16 illustrates that step S306 is performed after the channel is sensed to be idle for the defer duration T_(d), but the present invention is not limited thereto. That is, step S306 may be performed independently of steps S302 to S304, and may be performed prior to steps S302 to S304. When step S306 is performed prior to steps S302 to S304, if the channel is sensed to be idle for the defer duration T_(d) by steps S302 to S304, the Tx entity proceeds to step S308.

In step S308, the Tx entity checks whether the value of the backoff counter N is 0. If the value of the backoff counter N is 0, the Tx entity proceeds to step S320 to perform a transmission. If the value of the backoff counter N is not 0, the Tx entity proceeds to step S310. In step S310, the Tx entity decreases the value of the backoff counter N by 1. According to an embodiment, the Tx entity may selectively decrease the value of the backoff counter by 1 in the channel sensing process for each slot. In this case, step S310 may be skipped at least once by the selection of the Tx entity. Next, the Tx entity performs channel sensing for an additional slot period (step S312). The Tx entity checks whether the channel is idle through the channel sensing for the additional slot period (step S314). If the channel is sensed to be idle for the additional slot period, the Tx entity returns to step S308. In this way, the Tx entity may decrease the backoff counter by 1 whenever the channel is sensed to be idle for a predetermined slot period. Here, the predetermined slot period may be 9 μs, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

In step S314, if the channel is not sensed to be idle for the additional slot period (that is, sensed to be busy), the Tx entity proceeds to step S316. In step S316, the Tx entity checks whether the channel is idle for the additional defer duration T_(d). According to an embodiment of the present invention, the channel sensing in step S316 may be performed in units of slots. That is, the Tx entity checks whether the channel is sensed to be idle during all slot periods of the additional defer duration T_(d). When the busy slot is detected within the additional defer duration T_(d), the Tx entity immediately restarts step S316. When the channel is sensed to be idle during all slot periods of the additional defer duration T_(d), the Tx entity returns to step S308.

On the other hand, if the value of the backoff counter N is 0 in the check of step S308, the Tx entity performs the transmission (step S320). The Tx entity receives a HARQ-ACK feedback corresponding to the transmission (step S322). The Tx entity may check whether the previous transmission is successful through the received HARQ-ACK feedback. Next, the Tx entity adjusts the CW size for the next transmission based on the received HARQ-ACK feedback (step S324).

As described above, after the channel is sensed to be idle for the defer duration T_(d), the Tx entity may perform the transmission when the channel is idle for N additional slot periods. As described above, the Tx entity may be a base station or a UE, and the channel access procedure of FIG. 16 may be used for downlink transmission of the base station and/or uplink transmission of the UE.

Hereinafter, a method for adaptively adjusting a CWS when accessing a channel in an unlicensed band is presented. The CWS may be adjusted based on UE (User Equipment) feedback, and UE feedback used for CWS adjustment may include the HARQ-ACK feedback and CQI/PMI/RI. In the present invention, a method for adaptively adjusting a CWS based on the HARQ-ACK feedback is presented. The HARQ-ACK feedback includes at least one of ACK, NACK, DTX, and NACK/DTX.

As described above, the CWS is adjusted based on ACK even in a wireless LAN system. When the ACK feedback is received, the CWS is reset to the minimum value (CWmin), and when the ACK feedback is not received, the CWS is increased. However, in a cellular system, a CWS adjustment method in consideration of multiple access is required.

First, for the description of the present invention, terms are defined as follows.

-   -   Set of HARQ-ACK feedback values (i.e., HARQ-ACK feedback set):         refers to HARQ-ACK feedback value(s) used for CWS         update/adjustment. The HARQ-ACK feedback set is decoded at a         time when the CWS is determined and corresponds to available         HARQ-ACK feedback values. The HARQ-ACK feedback set includes         HARQ-ACK feedback value(s) for one or more DL (channel)         transmissions (e.g., PDSCH) on an unlicensed band carrier (e.g.,         Scell, NR-U cell). The HARQ-ACK feedback set may include         HARQ-ACK feedback value(s) for a DL (channel) transmission         (e.g., PDSCH), for example, a plurality of HARQ-ACK feedback         values fed back from a plurality of UEs. The HARQ-ACK feedback         value may indicate reception response information for the code         block group (CBG) or the transport block (TB), and may indicate         any one of ACK, NACK, DTX, or NACK/DTX. Depending on the         context, the HARQ-ACK feedback value may be mixed with terms         such as a HARQ-ACK value, a HARQ-ACK information bit, and a         HARQ-ACK response.     -   Reference window: refers to a time interval in which a DL         transmission (e.g., PDSCH) corresponding to the HARQ-ACK         feedback set is performed in an unlicensed band carrier (e.g.,         Scell, NR-U cell). A reference window may be defined in units of         slots or subframes according to embodiments. The reference         window may indicate one or more specific slots (or subframes).         According to an embodiment of the present invention, the         specific slot (or reference slot) may include a start slot of         the most recent DL transmission burst in which at least some         HARQ-ACK feedback is expected to be available.

FIG. 17 illustrates an embodiment of a method of adjusting a contention window size (CWS) based on HARQ-ACK feedback. In the embodiment of FIG. 17, the Tx entity may be a base station and the Rx entity may be a UE, but the present invention is not limited thereto. In addition, although the embodiment of FIG. 17 assumes a channel access procedure for the DL transmission by the base station, at least some configurations may be applied to a channel access procedure for the UL transmission by the UE.

Referring to FIG. 17, the Tx entity transmits the n-th DL transmission burst on an unlicensed band carrier (e.g., Scell, NR-U cell) (step S402), and then if an additional DL transmission is required, the Tx entity may transmit the (n+1)-th DL transmission burst based on the LBT channel access (step S412). Here, the transmission burst indicates a transmission through one or more adjacent slots (or subframes). FIG. 17 illustrates a channel access procedure and a CWS adjustment method based on the aforementioned first type channel access (that is, Category 4 channel access).

First, the Tx entity receives a HARQ-ACK feedback corresponding to the PDSCH transmission(s) on an unlicensed band carrier (e.g., Scell, NR-U cell) (step S404). The HARQ-ACK feedback used for CWS adjustment includes a HARQ-ACK feedback corresponding to the most recent DL transmission burst (that is, n-th DL transmission burst) on the unlicensed band carrier. More specifically, the HARQ-ACK feedback used for CWS adjustment includes a HARQ-ACK feedback corresponding to the PDSCH transmission on the reference window within the most recent DL transmission burst. The reference window may indicate one or more specific slots (or subframes). According to an embodiment of the present invention, the specific slot (or reference slot) includes a start slot of the most recent DL transmission burst in which at least some HARQ-ACK feedback is expected to be available.

When the HARQ-ACK feedback is received, a HARQ-ACK value is obtained for each transport block (TB). The HARQ-ACK feedback includes at least one of a TB-based HARQ-ACK bit sequence and a CBG-based HARQ-ACK. When the HARQ-ACK feedback is the TB-based HARQ-ACK bit sequence, one HARQ-ACK information bit is obtained per TB. On the other hand, when the HARQ-ACK feedback is the CBG-based HARQ-ACK bit sequence, N HARQ-ACK information bit(s) are obtained per TB. Here, N is the maximum number of CBGs per TB configured in the Rx entity of the PDSCH transmission. According to an embodiment of the present invention, HARQ-ACK value(s) for each TB may be determined with the HARQ-ACK information bit(s) for each TB of the HARQ-ACK feedback for CWS determination. More specifically, when the HARQ-ACK feedback is the TB-based HARQ-ACK bit sequence, one HARQ-ACK information bit of the TB is determined as the HARQ-ACK value. However, when the HARQ-ACK feedback is the CBG-based HARQ-ACK bit sequence, one HARQ-ACK value may be determined based on N HARQ-ACK information bit(s) corresponding to CBGs included in the TB.

Next, the Tx entity adjusts the CWS based on the HARQ-ACK values determined in step S404 (step S406). That is, the Tx entity determines the CWS based on the HARQ-ACK value(s) determined with the HARQ-ACK information bit(s) for each TB of the HARQ-ACK feedback. More specifically, the CWS may be adjusted based on the ratio of NACKs among HARQ-ACK value(s). First, variables may be defined as follows.

-   -   p: Priority class value     -   CW_min_p: Predetermined CWS minimum value of priority class p     -   CW_max_p: Predetermined CWS maximum value of priority class p     -   CW_p: CWS for transmission of priority class p. CW_p is set to         any one of a plurality of CWS values between CW_min_p and         CW_max_p included in the allowed CWS set of the priority class         p.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the CWS may be determined according to the following steps.

Step A-1) For every priority class p, CW_p is set to CW_min_p. In this case, the priority class p includes {1, 2, 3, 4}.

Step A-2) When the ratio of NACKs to HARQ-ACK values for the PDSCH transmission(s) of the reference window k is Z % or more, CW_p is increased to the next highest allowed value for every priority class p (further, Step A-2 remains). Otherwise, Step A proceeds to Step A-1. Here, Z is a predetermined integer in the range of 0<=Z<=100, and according to an embodiment, it may be set to one of {30, 50, 70, 80, 100}.

Here, the reference window k includes the start slot (or subframe) of the most recent transmission by the Tx entity. In addition, the reference window k is a slot (or subframe) in which at least some of the HARQ-ACK feedbacks is expected to be possible. If CW_p=CW_max_p, the next highest allowed value for CW_p adjustment is CW_max_p.

Next, the Tx entity selects a random value within the CWS determined in step S406 and sets the random value to the initial value of the backoff counter N (step S408). The Tx entity performs backoff by using the set backoff counter N (step S410). That is, the Tx entity may decrease the backoff counter by 1 for each slot period in which the channel is sensed to be idle. When the value of the backoff counter reaches 0, the Tx entity may transmit the (n+1)-th DL transmission burst in the channel (step S412).

Meanwhile, in the above-described CWS adjustment process, determination has to be made as to whether not only ACK and NACK but also DTX or NACK/DTX are considered together among HARQ-ACK feedbacks. According to an embodiment of the present invention, depending on whether the transmission in the unlicensed band is based on self-carrier scheduling or cross-carrier scheduling, determination may be made as to whether DTX or NACK/DTX is considered together in the CWS adjustment process.

In self-carrier scheduling, a DL transmission (e.g., PDSCH) on the unlicensed band carrier is scheduled through the control channel (e.g., (E)PDCCH) transmitted on the same unlicensed band carrier. Here, since the DTX indicates a failure of the DL transmission by a hidden node or the like in the unlicensed band carrier, it may be used for CWS adjustment together with NACK. In addition, DTX is one of the methods in which the UE informs the base station that the UE fails to decode the control channel even though the base station transmits, to the UE, the control channel including scheduling information (e.g., (E)PDCCH). DTX may be determined only by the HARQ-ACK feedback value, or may be determined taking into account the HARQ-ACK feedback value and the actual scheduling situation. According to an embodiment of the present invention, DTX and NACK/DTX may be counted as NACK for CWS adjustment in the self-carrier scheduling situation. That is, when the ratio of the sum of NACK, DTX, and NACK/DTX to HARQ-ACK values for the PDSCH transmission(s) of the reference window k is equal to or greater than Z %, the CWS is increased to the next highest allowed value. Otherwise, the CWS is reset to the minimum value.

In cross-carrier scheduling, a DL transmission (e.g., PDSCH) on the unlicensed band carrier may be scheduled through the control channel (e.g., (E)PDCCH) transmitted on the licensed band carrier. In this case, since the DTX feedback is used to determine the decoding situation of the UE for the control channel transmitted on the licensed band carrier, it is not helpful to adaptively adjust the CWS for a channel access in the unlicensed band. Therefore, according to an embodiment of the present invention, DTX may be ignored for CWS determination in the cross-carrier scheduling situation from the licensed band. That is, for CWS adjustment, among HARQ-ACK value(s), only ACK and NACK may be considered for calculating the ratio of NACK, or only ACK, NACK and NACK/DTX may be considered for calculating the ratio of NACK. Therefore, when calculating the ratio of the NACK, DTX may be excluded.

FIG. 18 is a block diagram showing the configurations of a UE and a base station according to an embodiment of the present invention. In an embodiment of the present invention, the UE may be implemented with various types of wireless communication devices or computing devices that are guaranteed to be portable and mobile. The UE may be referred to as a User Equipment (UE), a Station (STA), a Mobile Subscriber (MS), or the like. In addition, in an embodiment of the present invention, the base station controls and manages a cell (e.g., a macro cell, a femto cell, a pico cell, etc.) corresponding to a service area, and performs functions of a signal transmission, a channel designation, a channel monitoring, a self diagnosis, a relay, or the like. The base station may be referred to as next Generation NodeB (gNB) or Access Point (AP).

As shown in the drawing, a UE 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may include a processor 110, a communication module 120, a memory 130, a user interface 140, and a display unit 150.

First, the processor 110 may execute various instructions or programs and process data within the UE 100. In addition, the processor 100 may control the entire operation including each unit of the UE 100, and may control the transmission/reception of data between the units. Here, the processor 110 may be configured to perform an operation according to the embodiments described in the present invention. For example, the processor 110 may receive slot configuration information, determine a slot configuration based on the slot configuration information, and perform communication according to the determined slot configuration.

Next, the communication module 120 may be an integrated module that performs wireless communication using a wireless communication network and a wireless LAN access using a wireless LAN. For this, the communication module 120 may include a plurality of network interface cards (NICs) such as cellular communication interface cards 121 and 122 and an unlicensed band communication interface card 123 in an internal or external form. In the drawing, the communication module 120 is shown as an integral integration module, but unlike the drawing, each network interface card can be independently arranged according to a circuit configuration or usage.

The cellular communication interface card 121 may transmit or receive a radio signal with at least one of the base station 200, an external device, and a server by using a mobile communication network and provide a cellular communication service in a first frequency band based on the instructions from the processor 110. According to an embodiment, the cellular communication interface card 121 may include at least one NIC module using a frequency band of less than 6 GHz. At least one NIC module of the cellular communication interface card 121 may independently perform cellular communication with at least one of the base station 200, an external device, and a server in accordance with cellular communication standards or protocols in the frequency bands below 6 GHz supported by the corresponding NIC module.

The cellular communication interface card 122 may transmit or receive a radio signal with at least one of the base station 200, an external device, and a server by using a mobile communication network and provide a cellular communication service in a second frequency band based on the instructions from the processor 110. According to an embodiment, the cellular communication interface card 122 may include at least one NIC module using a frequency band of more than 6 GHz. At least one NIC module of the cellular communication interface card 122 may independently perform cellular communication with at least one of the base station 200, an external device, and a server in accordance with cellular communication standards or protocols in the frequency bands of 6 GHz or more supported by the corresponding NIC module.

The unlicensed band communication interface card 123 transmits or receives a radio signal with at least one of the base station 200, an external device, and a server by using a third frequency band which is an unlicensed band, and provides an unlicensed band communication service based on the instructions from the processor 110. The unlicensed band communication interface card 123 may include at least one NIC module using an unlicensed band. For example, the unlicensed band may be a band of 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz, 7 GHz or above 52.6 GHz. At least one NIC module of the unlicensed band communication interface card 123 may independently or dependently perform wireless communication with at least one of the base station 200, an external device, and a server according to the unlicensed band communication standard or protocol of the frequency band supported by the corresponding NIC module.

The memory 130 stores a control program used in the UE 100 and various kinds of data therefor. Such a control program may include a prescribed program required for performing wireless communication with at least one among the base station 200, an external device, and a server.

Next, the user interface 140 includes various kinds of input/output means provided in the UE 100. In other words, the user interface 140 may receive a user input using various input means, and the processor 110 may control the UE 100 based on the received user input. In addition, the user interface 140 may perform an output based on instructions from the processor 110 using various kinds of output means.

Next, the display unit 150 outputs various images on a display screen. The display unit 150 may output various display objects such as content executed by the processor 110 or a user interface based on control instructions from the processor 110.

In addition, the base station 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a processor 210, a communication module 220, and a memory 230.

First, the processor 210 may execute various instructions or programs, and process internal data of the base station 200. In addition, the processor 210 may control the entire operations of units in the base station 200, and control data transmission and reception between the units. Here, the processor 210 may be configured to perform operations according to embodiments described in the present invention. For example, the processor 210 may signal slot configuration and perform communication according to the signaled slot configuration.

Next, the communication module 220 may be an integrated module that performs wireless communication using a wireless communication network and a wireless LAN access using a wireless LAN. For this, the communication module 220 may include a plurality of network interface cards such as cellular communication interface cards 221 and 222 and an unlicensed band communication interface card 223 in an internal or external form. In the drawing, the communication module 220 is shown as an integral integration module, but unlike the drawing, each network interface card can be independently arranged according to a circuit configuration or usage.

The cellular communication interface card 221 may transmit or receive a radio signal with at least one of the UE 100, an external device, and a server by using a mobile communication network and provide a cellular communication service in the first frequency band based on the instructions from the processor 210. According to an embodiment, the cellular communication interface card 221 may include at least one NIC module using a frequency band of less than 6 GHz. The at least one NIC module of the cellular communication interface card 221 may independently perform cellular communication with at least one of the UE 100, an external device, and a server in accordance with the cellular communication standards or protocols in the frequency bands less than 6 GHz supported by the corresponding NIC module.

The cellular communication interface card 222 may transmit or receive a radio signal with at least one of the UE 100, an external device, and a server by using a mobile communication network and provide a cellular communication service in the second frequency band based on the instructions from the processor 210. According to an embodiment, the cellular communication interface card 222 may include at least one NIC module using a frequency band of 6 GHz or more. The at least one NIC module of the cellular communication interface card 222 may independently perform cellular communication with at least one of the UE 100, an external device, and a server in accordance with the cellular communication standards or protocols in the frequency bands 6 GHz or more supported by the corresponding NIC module.

The unlicensed band communication interface card 223 transmits or receives a radio signal with at least one of the UE 100, an external device, and a server by using the third frequency band which is an unlicensed band, and provides an unlicensed band communication service based on the instructions from the processor 210. The unlicensed band communication interface card 223 may include at least one NIC module using an unlicensed band. For example, the unlicensed band may be a band of 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz, 7 GHz or above 52.6 GHz. At least one NIC module of the unlicensed band communication interface card 223 may independently or dependently perform wireless communication with at least one of the UE 100, an external device, and a server according to the unlicensed band communication standards or protocols of the frequency band supported by the corresponding NIC module.

FIG. 18 is a block diagram illustrating the UE 100 and the base station 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and blocks separately shown are logically divided elements of a device. Accordingly, the aforementioned elements of the device may be mounted in a single chip or a plurality of chips according to the design of the device. In addition, a part of the configuration of the UE 100, for example, a user interface 140, a display unit 150 and the like may be selectively provided in the UE 100. In addition, the user interface 140, the display unit 150 and the like may be additionally provided in the base station 200, if necessary.

A wireless communication device operating in a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may perform an LBT procedure in the unit of bandwidths predetermined to perform the LBT procedure in an unlicensed band. The predesignated bandwidth may be referred to as an LBT bandwidth, an LBT subband, or an LBT basic bandwidth. For convenience of description, the predesignated bandwidth is referred to as a basic bandwidth in description below. Specifically, when performing channel access, the wireless communication device may determine whether a channel is idle in the unit of basic bandwidths. In a specific embodiment, the wireless communication device may determine whether a channel is idle in the unit of predesignated basic bandwidths, and may determine, based on the determination of whether the channel is idle, whether to perform transmission in the corresponding channel. Further, the basic bandwidth may be 20 MHz. This may be in consideration of the coexistence with another wireless communication device (e.g., a wireless LAN device) using the unlicensed band. In the present specification, the wireless communication device may be referred to as a user equipment or a base station. Further, the wireless communication device may indicate both a user equipment and a base station. Therefore, channel access for UL transmission and channel access for DL transmission may be performed in the unit of basic bandwidths. When the wireless communication device performs channel access in the unit of basic bandwidths in an unlicensed band, a method for performing channel access by using a bandwidth larger than the basic bandwidth or performing channel access in a BWP having a bandwidth larger than the basic bandwidth may become a problem. As described above, the BWP is a set of continuous PRBs selected from a subset of multiple continuous RBs for a given numerology in a given carrier. A base station may configure, for a user equipment, one or more DL BWPs for downlink, and may perform transmission to the user equipment through one downlink active DL BWP among the one or more configured DL BWPs. Further, the base station may configure, for the user equipment, one or more UL BWPs for uplink, and may schedule a resource for uplink transmission of the user equipment through one uplink active UL BWP among the one or more configured UL BWPs. Specifically, when a frequency resource corresponding to any one basic bandwidth is idle but another resource corresponding to the basic bandwidth is busy, a method for channel access by a wireless communication device may become a problem. This is because, in a BWP, if a frequency resource corresponding to any one basic bandwidth is idle but another resource corresponding to the basic bandwidth is busy, spectral efficiency may be reduced when the wireless communication device fails to transmit data in the BWP.

In a specific embodiment, a base station may allocate a bandwidth of a BWP as a basic bandwidth. In this case, the base station may simultaneously perform downlink transmission in multiple BWPs. A user equipment may simultaneously perform uplink transmission in the multiple BWPs. In these embodiments, specific operations of the base station and the user equipment may be identical to a channel access operation in a multicarrier, which is defined in 3GPP TS 36.213 v14.8.0. In another specific embodiment, a base station may configure the bandwidth of a BWP to correspond to an integer multiple of a basic bandwidth. A description will be made of a specific method in which a wireless communication device accesses a channel by using a BWP in a wireless communication system operating in an unlicensed band.

A base station may configure multiple BWPs for a user equipment in an unlicensed band. Specifically, the base station may configure multiple downlink BWPs for the user equipment in the unlicensed band. At this time, the base station may activate multiple BWPs for the user equipment in the unlicensed band. In this embodiment, first, a description will be made of operation methods of the base station and the user equipment. The base station may transmit signaling regarding a bandwidth part (BWP) to indicate information on a BWP activated for the user equipment. The user equipment may receive the signaling regarding the BWP from the base station and may determine the BWP activated for the user equipment. Specifically, the base station may configure, for the user equipment, one or more activated downlink BWPs among multiple downlink BWPs through dedicated RRC signaling. In contrast, as described above, the base station may indicate, through DCI, an activated BWP among the BWPs configured for the user equipment. The user equipment may receive the DCI, and may determine the activated BWP on the basis of the DCI.

When the base station successfully performs channel access in at least one BWP, the base station may transmit a PDSCH in the at least one BWP in which the channel access has been successfully performed. That is, when the base station has successfully performed channel access in multiple BWPs, the base station may transmit a PDSCH in each of the multiple BWPs. At this time, the base station may transmit a PDCCH for scheduling the PDSCH in a BWP in which the PDSCH is to be transmitted, and each PDCCH may include scheduling information of a PDSCH transmitted in a BWP in which the PDCCH is transmitted. The scheduling information of the PDSCH indicates information about time and frequency resources for transmission of the PDSCH. When multiple BWPs, among the BWPs configured for the user equipment, are activated, the user equipment may not determine a BWP, in which the base station successfully performs channel access, among the multiple activated BWPs. Therefore, the user equipment may monitor a PDCCH in a CORESET configured for each of the multiple activated BWPs to attempt to receive the PDCCH. The user equipment may use PDSCH scheduling information included in the received PDCCH to receive a PDSCH in each BWP. The user equipment may perform PDCCH monitoring in all BWPs configured for the user equipment. Specifically, the user equipment may perform PDCCH monitoring in CORESETs of all BWPs configured for the user equipment. Further, the user equipment may receive a PDSCH in a corresponding BWP on the basis of PDSCH scheduling information included in a received PDCCH. In this embodiment, the user equipment is required to monitor PDCCHs in all the BWPs configured for the user equipment, and thus complexity for blind decoding of the PDCCHs may increase. Further, the consumption of power, which the user equipment uses to receive a PDCCH, may increase. In the present specification, succeeding in channel access may indicate the case in which transmission in a corresponding channel is allowed according to a channel access procedure. Herein, the channel access procedure may imply the above-described LBT procedure.

The base station may configure different BWPs such that the BWPs have different frequency resources. Further, the base station may perform configuration such that the frequency resources of the different BWPs overlap each other. For example, when the different BWPs are configured to overlap each other, a part of a frequency resource of a first BWP may be identical to a part of a frequency resource of a second BWP. Further, the frequency resource of the first BWP may include the frequency resource of the second BWP. For convenience of description, when frequency resources of different BWPs overlap each other, the corresponding BWPs may be referred to as overlapping BWPs. The base station configures a CORESET for each BWP, and the user equipment monitors a PDCCH in a CORESET resource of each BWP. When there are overlapping BWPs, the user equipment may sequentially perform PDCCH monitoring in the overlapping BWPs on the basis of the priorities of the BWPs. In this embodiment, when the user equipment has received a PDCCH in any one BWP, the user equipment may not monitor a PDCCH in a BWP having a lower priority than the BWP in which the PDCCH has been received. At this time, priorities may be configured based on the sizes of the bandwidths of the BWPs. In a specific embodiment, a BWP having a wider bandwidth may have a higher priority. When the bandwidth of a first BWP is wider than the bandwidth of a second BWP, the user equipment may monitor a PDCCH in the first BWP and then may monitor a PDCCH in the second BWP. In another specific embodiment, a BWP having a narrower bandwidth may have a higher priority. When the bandwidth of a first BWP is narrower than the bandwidth of a second BWP, the user equipment may monitor a PDCCH in the first BWP and then may monitor a PDCCH in the second BWP. The operations may be efficient in the case in which the base station can perform transmission in a BWP only when the base station succeeds in channel access in all basic bandwidths included in the BWP. This is because, in the case in which the base station can perform transmission in a BWP only when the base station succeeds in channel access in all basic bandwidths included in the BWP, it is highly probable that the user equipment transmits a PDCCH in a BWP having a narrow bandwidth.

In another embodiment, even when the base station succeeds in channel access in multiple BWPs, the base station may transmit a PDSCH in one of the multiple BWPs in which the base station succeeds in channel access. At this time, the base station may determine, based on a priority, a BWP in which the PDSCH is to be transmitted, among the multiple BWPs in which the base station has succeeded in channel access. At this time, the base station may transmit a PDCCH for scheduling the PDSCH in the BWP in which the PDSCH is to be transmitted. A user equipment may determine, based on a priority of each of multiple BWPs, the order of the BWPs in which PDCCH monitoring are to be performed. When multiple BWPs are activated for the user equipment, the user equipment may sequentially monitor PDCCHs in the multiple BWPs on the basis of a priority of each of the multiple BWPs. At this time, when the user equipment receives a PDCCH in any one BWP, the user equipment may omit PDCCH monitoring in BWPs other than the BWP in which the PDCCH is received. Specifically, when the user equipment receives a PDCCH for scheduling a PDSCH in any one BWP, the user equipment may omit monitoring a PDCCH for scheduling a PDSCH in BWPs other than the BWP in which the PDCCH is received.

The priority may be determined based on an index of a BWP. In a specific embodiment, a BWP having a larger index may have a higher priority. For example, when the base station succeeds in channel access in a first BWP and a second BWP and an index of the first BWP is larger than an index of the second BWP, the base station may determine that a BWP in which a PDSCH is to be transmitted is the first BWP among the first BWP and the second BWP. At this time, the user equipment may monitor a PDCCH in the first BWP and then may monitor a PDCCH in the second BWP. In another specific embodiment, a BWP having a smaller index may have a higher priority. For example, when the base station succeeds in channel access in a first BWP and a second BWP and an index of the first BWP is smaller than an index of the second BWP, the base station may determine that a BWP in which a PDSCH is to be transmitted is the first BWP among the first BWP and the second BWP. At this time, the user equipment may monitor a PDCCH in the first BWP and then may monitor a PDCCH in the second BWP. At this time, when the user equipment receives a PDCCH in a BWP which has a higher priority and in which PDCCH monitoring is performed, the user equipment may omit PDCCH monitoring in BWPs other than the BWP in which the PDCCH is received. Specifically, when the user equipment receives a PDCCH for scheduling a PDSCH in a BWP which has a higher priority and in which PDCCH monitoring is performed, the user equipment may omit monitoring of a PDCCH for scheduling a PDSCH in BWPs other than the BWP in which the PDCCH is received.

In another specific embodiment, a priority may be determined based on the bandwidth of a BWP. Specifically, a BWP having a narrower bandwidth may have a higher priority. For example, when the base station succeeds in channel access in a first BWP and a second BWP and the bandwidth of the first BWP is narrower than the bandwidth of the second BWP, the base station may determine that a BWP in which a PDSCH is to be transmitted is the first BWP among the first BWP and the second BWP. At this time, the user equipment may monitor a PDCCH in the first BWP and then may monitor a PDCCH in the second BWP. In another specific embodiment, a BWP having a wider bandwidth may have a higher priority. For example, when the base station succeeds in channel access in a first BWP and a second BWP and the bandwidth of the first BWP is wider than the bandwidth of the second BWP, the base station may determine that a BWP in which a PDSCH is to be transmitted is the first BWP among the first BWP and the second BWP. At this time, the user equipment may monitor a PDCCH in the first BWP and then may monitor a PDCCH in the second BWP. Further, in the above-described embodiment, when multiple BWPs have the same bandwidth, a priority may be determined based on an index of each of the BWPs.

In another specific embodiment, the base station may configure one or more BWPs for the user equipment in an unlicensed band, and may limit an activatable BWP to only one of the one or more configured BWPs. Therefore, even when multiple BWPs are configured for the user equipment in the unlicensed band, the base station may activate only one BWP for the user equipment in the unlicensed band. In this embodiment, a description will be first made of operation methods of the base station and the user equipment.

Only when the base station succeeds in channel access in all basic bandwidths included in a BWP, the base station may transmit a PDSCH to the user equipment in the corresponding BWP. When the base station succeeds in channel access in all basic bandwidths included in a BWP, the base station may transmit a PDCCH for scheduling a PDSCH to the user equipment in the corresponding BWP. The user equipment may monitor a PDCCH in an active BWP among BWPs configured for the user equipment. Specifically, the user equipment may monitor a PDCCH in a CORESET of an active BWP among BWPs configured for the user equipment. The user equipment monitors a PDCCH in only one BWP, and thus the complexity of the user equipment may be prevented from increasing for an operation of the user equipment in an unlicensed band. Further, the efficiency of power consumption by the user equipment in the unlicensed band may be prevented from being reduced. However, if the base station performs transmission in a BWP only when the base station succeeds in channel access in all basic bandwidths included in the BWP, the spectral efficiency of a downlink which the base station transmits to the user equipment may be reduced.

When the base station has succeeded in channel access in at least one of basic bandwidths included in a BWP, the base station may transmit a PDSCH to the user equipment in the BWP by using the at least one basic bandwidth in which the base station has succeeded in channel access. When the base station has succeeded in channel access in at least one of basic bandwidths included in a BWP, the base station may transmit a PDCCH for scheduling a PDSCH to the user equipment in the BWP by using the at least one basic bandwidth in which the base station has succeeded in channel access. This embodiment may increase the spectral efficiency for transmitting a PDCCH by the base station. However, the user equipment may not determine a BWP, in which the base station has succeeded in channel access, among the at least one basic bandwidth included in the BWP. Therefore, the user equipment may monitor a PDCCH in a CORESET configured in the BWP. However, when a CORESET is configured in a BWP unit and the base station fails in channel access in any basic bandwidth among basic bandwidths included in a BWP, the base station may not use a partial bandwidth of the CORESET, and thus may not transmit a PDCCH in the corresponding CORESET. Therefore, the user equipment may fail to receive the PDCCH in the CORESET. Accordingly, the base station may configure a CORESET within a basic bandwidth in a BWP. Specifically, when the base station configures a CORESET in a BWP, the base station may configure the CORESET within a basic bandwidth. The user equipment may monitor a PDCCH assuming that the PDCCH can be transmitted from the base station in the CORESET within the basic bandwidth. When the size of a bandwidth of a BWP configured for the user equipment, that is, the number of basic bandwidths, increases, the number of CORESETs, in which the user equipment is to monitor a PDCCH, increases because the CORESET may be configured within the basic bandwidths. Therefore, there is a disadvantage in that power consumption or complexity of the user equipment according to blind decoding of a PDCCH may increase. Accordingly, a method, in which the user equipment can efficiently monitor a PDCCH, is needed. In particular, when a CORESET is configured within a basic bandwidth, that is, when a CORESET has a bandwidth equal to or smaller than a basic bandwidth, a method for monitoring a PDCCH by the user equipment is needed. A description thereof will be made with reference to FIGS. 19 to 21.

FIG. 19 shows the case in which, when a base station according to an embodiment of the present disclosure configures a BWP including one or more basic bandwidths, the base station transmits a PDCCH in a CORESET configured within each basic bandwidth and transmits a PDSCH in the BWP, on the basis of a priority of each basic bandwidth.

When the base station has succeeded in channel access in multiple basic bandwidths, each of which includes a CORESET, in a BWP, the base station may transmit a PDCCH for scheduling a PDSCH to a user equipment in one of the multiple basic bandwidths in which the base station has succeeded in channel access. The base station may distinguish between the multiple basic bandwidths, each of which includes a CORESET, in the BWP, and may designate priorities for the multiple basic bandwidths. Each of the multiple basic bandwidths may have a unique priority. When the base station has succeeded in channel access in the multiple basic bandwidths, each of which includes a CORESET, in the BWP, the base station may determine that a basic bandwidth, having the highest priority, among the basic bandwidths in which the base station has succeeded in channel access, is a bandwidth in which a PDCCH is to be transmitted. That is, when the base station has succeeded in channel access in the multiple basic bandwidths, each of which includes a CORESET, in the BWP, the base station may transmit a PDCCH to the user equipment in a bandwidth having the highest priority among the multiple basic bandwidths in which the base station has succeeded in channel access. For convenience of description, the basic bandwidth in which the base station can transmit the PDCCH and has the highest priority among the basic bandwidths in which the base station has succeeded in channel access may be referred to as a top-priority basic bandwidth. The user equipment may monitor the PDCCH on the basis of a priority of each of the basic bandwidths. Specifically, the user equipment may determine the order of a basic bandwidth, in which a PDCCH is to be monitored, on the basis of the priority of the basic bandwidth. When a CORESET is configured within each base bandwidth, the user equipment may sequentially monitor PDCCHs in CORESETs of multiple basic bandwidths on the basis of priorities of the multiple basic bandwidths. For example, when the user equipment fails to receive a PDCCH in a CORESET configured within a bandwidth which has the highest priority among basic bandwidths, the user equipment monitors a PDCCH in a CORESET configured within a basic bandwidth which has a second highest priority. When the user equipment receives a PDCCH in any one basic bandwidth, the user equipment may omit PDCCH monitoring in the remaining basic bandwidths. Specifically, when the user equipment receives a PDCCH for scheduling a PDSCH in any one basic bandwidth, the user equipment may omit monitoring of a PDCCH for scheduling a PDSCH in each of basic bandwidths other than the basic bandwidth in which the PDCCH is received.

Further, the PDCCH may schedule a PDSCH transmitted in each of basic bandwidths in which the base station has succeeded in channel access. At this time, the PDCCH may schedule not only a PDSCH transmitted in a top-priority basic bandwidth but also a PDSCH transmitted in each of basic bandwidths other than the top-priority basic bandwidth. The base station may determine, based on the top-priority basic bandwidth, at least one basic bandwidth in which a PDSCH is to be transmitted. The user equipment may receive the PDSCH on the basis of PDSCH scheduling information included in the received PDCCH.

Further, the base station may determine a basic bandwidth, in which a PDSCH is to be transmitted, by combining the result of channel access in a top-priority basic bandwidth and the result of channel access in other basic bandwidths in a corresponding BWP. In a specific embodiment, when the base station has also succeeded in channel access in a basic bandwidth adjacent to the top-priority basic bandwidth, the base station may transmit a PDSCH on the basis of the top-priority basic bandwidth and the basic bandwidth which is adjacent to the top-priority basic bandwidth and in which the base station has succeed in channel access. At this time, the base station may transmit the PDSCH through a bandwidth which is integer times wider than the basic bandwidth (e.g., 20 MHz*M, M={1, 2, 3, 4, . . . , N}, N is a natural number). In another specific embodiment, the base station may transmit a PDSCH through a bandwidth which is wider by a power of two times the basic bandwidth (e.g., 20 MHz*2L, L={0, 1, 2, 3, . . . , X}, X is a natural number). In FIG. 19, LBT units indicate basic bandwidths.

FIG. 19-(a) shows the case in which a base station transmits a PDSCH through a bandwidth which is integer times wider than a basic bandwidth. Case 1 shows the case in which the base station has succeeded in channel access in a basic bandwidth having the highest priority (primary LBT unit) and has failed in channel access in a basic bandwidth having a second highest priority (secondary LBT unit). In Case 1, the base station is allowed to perform PDSCH transmission through one basic bandwidth (a 1^(st) LBT unit). Case 2 shows the case in which the base station has succeeded in channel access in the basic bandwidth having the highest priority (primary LBT unit) and the basic bandwidth having the second highest priority (secondary LBT unit) and has failed in channel access in a basic bandwidth having a third highest priority (thirdly LBT unit). In Case 2, the base station is allowed to perform PDSCH transmission through two basic bandwidths (1^(st) LBT unit and 2^(nd) LBT unit). Case 3 shows the case in which the base station has succeeded in channel access in the basic bandwidth having the highest priority (primary LBT unit), the basic bandwidth having the second highest priority (secondary LBT unit), and the basic bandwidth having the third highest priority (thirdly LBT unit) and has failed in channel access in a basic bandwidth having a fourth highest priority (fourthly LBT unit). In Case 3, the base station is allowed to perform PDSCH transmission through three basic bandwidths (1^(st) LBT unit, 2^(nd) LBT unit, and 3^(rd) LBT unit). Case 4 shows the case in which the base station has succeeded in channel access in all (i.e., N) basic bandwidths. In Case 4, the base station is allowed to perform PDSCH transmission through the N basic bandwidths (1^(st) LBT unit, 2^(nd) LBT unit, 3^(rd) LBT unit, . . . N^(th) LBT unit). Case 5 shows the case in which the base station has succeeded in channel access in the basic bandwidth having the second highest priority (secondary LBT unit) and has failed in channel access in the basic bandwidth having the highest priority (primary LBT unit) and the basic bandwidth having the third highest priority (thirdly LBT unit). In Case 5, the base station is allowed to perform PDSCH transmission through one basic bandwidth (2^(nd) LBT unit). Case 6 shows the case in which the base station has succeeded in channel access in the basic bandwidth having the second highest priority (secondary LBT unit) and the basic bandwidth having the third highest priority (thirdly LBT unit), and has failed in channel access in the basic bandwidth having the highest priority (primary LBT unit) and the basic bandwidth having the fourth highest priority (fourthly LBT unit). In Case 6, the base station is allowed to perform PDSCH transmission through two basic bandwidths (2^(nd) LBT unit and 3^(rd) LBT unit). Case 7 shows the case in which the base station has succeeded in channel access in all basic bandwidths excluding the bandwidth having the highest priority (primary LBT unit). PDSCH transmission through N−1 basic bandwidths (2^(nd) LBT unit, 3^(rd) LBT unit, . . . N^(th) LBT unit) is allowed. Case 8 shows the case in which the base station has succeeded in channel access in the basic bandwidth having the third highest priority (thirdly LBT unit) and has failed in channel access in the basic bandwidth having the highest priority (primary LBT unit), the basic bandwidth having the second highest priority (secondary LBT unit), and the basic bandwidth having the fourth highest priority (fourthly LBT unit). In Case 8, the base station is allowed to perform PDSCH transmission through one basic bandwidth (thirdly LBT unit). Case 9 shows the case in which the base station has succeeded in channel access in all basic bandwidths excluding the basic bandwidth having the highest priority (primary LBT unit) and the basic bandwidth having the second highest priority (secondary LBT unit). In Case 9, the base station is allowed to perform PDSCH transmission through N−2 basic bandwidths (3^(rd) LBT unit, . . . N^(th) LBT unit). Case 10 shows the case in which the base station has succeeded in channel access in only a basic bandwidth having the lowest priority (N^(th) LBT unit). In Case 10, PDSCH transmission through one basic bandwidth (N^(th) LBT unit) is allowed.

FIG. 19(b) shows the case in which the base station transmits a PDSCH through a bandwidth which is wider by a power of two times a basic bandwidth. Case 1 shows the case in which the base station has succeeded in channel access in a basic bandwidth having the highest priority (primary LBT unit) and has failed in channel access in a basic bandwidth having a second highest priority (secondary LBT unit). In Case 1, the base station is allowed to perform PDSCH transmission through one basic bandwidth (1^(st) LBT unit). Case 2 shows the case in which the base station has succeeded in channel access in the basic bandwidth having the highest priority (primary LBT unit) and the basic bandwidth having the second highest priority (secondary LBT unit) and has failed in channel access in at least one of a basic bandwidth having a third highest priority (thirdly LBT unit) and a basic bandwidth having the fourth highest priority (fourthly LBT unit). In Case 2, the base station is allowed to perform PDSCH transmission through two basic bandwidths (1^(st) LBT unit and 2^(nd) LBT unit). Case 3 shows the case in which the base station has succeeded in channel access in all (i.e., N) basic bandwidths. In Case 3, the base station is allowed to perform PDSCH transmission through the N basic bandwidths. Case 4 shows the case in which the base station has succeeded in channel access in the basic bandwidth having the second highest priority (secondary LBT unit) and has failed in channel access in the basic bandwidth having the highest priority (primary LBT unit) and the basic bandwidth having the third highest priority (thirdly LBT unit). In Case 4, the base station is allowed to perform PDSCH transmission through one basic bandwidth (2^(nd) LBT unit). Case 5 shows the case in which the base station has succeeded in channel access in the basic bandwidth having the second highest priority (secondary LBT unit) and the basic bandwidth having the third highest priority (thirdly LBT unit), has failed in channel access in the basic bandwidth having the highest priority (primary LBT unit), and has failed in channel access in at least one of the basic bandwidth having the third highest priority (thirdly LBT unit) and the basic bandwidth having the fourth highest priority (fourthly LBT unit). In Case 5, the base station is allowed to perform PDSCH transmission through two basic bandwidths (2^(nd) LBT unit and 3^(rd) LBT unit). Case 6 shows the case in which the base station has succeeded in channel access in the basic bandwidth having the third highest priority (thirdly LBT unit) and has failed in channel access in the basic bandwidth having the highest priority (primary LBT unit), the basic bandwidth having the second highest priority (secondary LBT unit), and the basic bandwidth having the fourth highest priority (fourthly LBT unit). In Case 6, the base station is allowed to perform PDSCH transmission through one basic bandwidth (3^(rd) LBT unit). Case 7 shows the case in which the base station has failed in channel access in the basic bandwidth having the highest priority (primary LBT unit) and the basic bandwidth having the second highest priority (secondary LBT unit), and has succeeded in channel access in the remaining N−2 basic bandwidths (3^(rd) LBT unit, . . . , N^(th) LBT unit). Herein, N−2 is a power of 2. In Case 7, the base station is allowed to perform PDSCH transmission through N−2 basic bandwidths (3^(rd) LBT unit, . . . N^(th) LBT unit). Case 8 shows the case in which the base station has succeeded in channel access in only a basic bandwidth having the lowest priority (N^(th) LBT unit). In Case 8, the base station is allowed to perform PDSCH transmission through one basic bandwidth (N^(th) LBT unit).

FIG. 20 shows the case in which, when a BWP is configured to include one or more basic bandwidths according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a base station transmits a PDCCH in a CORESET configured within each basic bandwidth, according to priorities of the designated basic bandwidths, and transmits a PDSCH in the BWP.

The base station may divide a BWP into basic bandwidth units, may designate multiple prioritized basic bandwidths in which a user equipment monitors a PDCCH, and may transmit the PDCCH in only the designated prioritized basic bandwidths. The base station may configure a CORESET within each of the designated basic bandwidths. In another specific embodiment, the base station may designate multiple prioritized basic bandwidths among basic bandwidths within which CORESETs are configured. Further, as described above, the bandwidth of a CORESET may be configured within a basic bandwidth. The user equipment may monitor a PDCCH in only the designated prioritized basic bandwidths.

One or more basic bandwidths in which the base station is capable of transmitting a PDCCH may be designated in a BWP. At this time, the base station may transmit the PDCCH to the user equipment on the basis of the result of channel access in the designated basic bandwidths. Specifically, the base station may transmit the PDCCH according to priorities of the designated basic bandwidths on the basis of the result of channel access in the designated basic bandwidths. The base station may transmit the PDCCH in a basic bandwidth which has the highest priority among basic bandwidths which correspond to the designated basic bandwidths and in which the base station has succeeded in channel access. In the embodiment of FIG. 20, a first basic bandwidth (1^(st) LBT unit) and a third basic bandwidth (3^(rd) LBT unit) are designated as basic bandwidths in which a PDCCH can be transmitted. In the embodiment of FIG. 20, when the base station has succeeded in channel access in the first basic bandwidth (1^(st) LBT unit) and the third basic bandwidth (3^(rd) LBT unit), the base station may transmit a PDCCH in the first basic bandwidth (1^(st) LBT unit).

The user equipment may monitor a PDCCH in the designated basic bandwidths. At this time, the user equipment may monitor the PDCCH on the basis of priorities of the designated basic bandwidths. Specifically, the user equipment may determine the order of the designated basic bandwidths, in which the PDCCH is to be monitored, on the basis of the priorities of the designated basic bandwidths. For example, when the user equipment fails to receive a PDCCH in a CORESET configured within a bandwidth having the highest priority among the designated basic bandwidths, the user equipment monitors a PDCCH in a basic bandwidth having a second highest priority. When the user equipment has received a PDCCH in any one designated basic bandwidth, the user equipment may omit PDCCH monitoring in the remaining designated basic bandwidths. Specifically, when the user equipment has received a PDCCH for scheduling a PDSCH in any one designated basic bandwidth, the user equipment may omit monitoring a PDCCH for scheduling a PDSCH in the remaining designated basic bandwidths.

Further, the PDCCH may schedule a PDSCH transmitted in each of basic bandwidths in which the base station has succeeded in channel access. At this time, the PDCCH may schedule not only a PDSCH transmitted in a top-priority basic bandwidth but also a PDSCH transmitted in each of basic bandwidths other than the top-priority basic bandwidth. In the top-priority basic bandwidth, the base station may transmit a PDCCH, and the top-priority basic bandwidth is a basic bandwidth having the highest priority among basic bandwidths in which the base station has succeeded in channel access. Therefore, the top-priority basic bandwidth is a designated basic bandwidth and a basic bandwidth having the highest priority among the basic bandwidths in which the base station has succeeded in channel access. The base station may determine, based on the top-priority basic bandwidth, a basic bandwidth in which a PDSCH is to be transmitted. The user equipment may receive the PDSCH on the basis of PDSCH scheduling information included in the received PDCCH.

Further, the base station may determine a basic bandwidth, in which a PDSCH is to be transmitted, by combining the result of channel access in a top-priority basic bandwidth and the result of channel access in other basic bandwidths in a corresponding BWP. In a specific embodiment, when the base station has also succeeded in channel access in a basic bandwidth adjacent to the top-priority basic bandwidth, the base station may transmit a PDSCH on the basis of the top-priority basic bandwidth and the basic bandwidth which is adjacent to the top-priority basic bandwidth and in which the base station has succeed in channel access. At this time, the base station may transmit the PDSCH through a bandwidth which is integer times wider than the basic bandwidth (e.g., 20 MHz*M, M={1, 2, 3, 4, . . . , N}, N is a natural number). In another specific embodiment, the base station may transmit a PDSCH through a bandwidth which is wider by a power of two times the basic bandwidth (e.g., 20 MHz*2L, L={0, 1, 2, 3, . . . , X}, X is a natural number). In FIG. 20, LBT units indicate basic bandwidths. As described above, in the embodiment of FIG. 20, two basic bandwidths (1^(st) LBT unit and 3^(rd) LBT unit) are designated as basic bandwidths in which a PDCCH can be transmitted.

FIG. 20-(a) shows the case in which the base station transmits a PDSCH through a bandwidth which is integer times wider than a basic bandwidth. Case 1 shows the case in which the base station has succeeded in channel access in a first basic bandwidth (1^(st) LBT unit) that is a basic bandwidth having the highest priority (primary LBT unit) and has failed in channel access in a second basic bandwidth (2^(nd) LBT unit). In Case 1, the base station is allowed to perform PDSCH transmission through one basic bandwidth (1^(st) LBT unit). Case 2 shows the case in which the base station has succeeded in channel access in the first basic bandwidth (primary LBT unit) that is a basic bandwidth having the highest priority and the second basic bandwidth (2^(nd) LBT unit), and has failed in channel access in a third basic bandwidth (3^(rd) LBT unit). In Case 2, the base station is allowed to perform PDSCH transmission through two basic bandwidths (1^(st) LBT unit and 2^(nd) LBT unit). Case 3 shows the case in which the base station has succeeded in channel access in the first basic bandwidth that is a basic bandwidth having the highest priority (primary LBT unit), the second basic bandwidth (secondary LBT unit), and the third basic bandwidth (thirdly LBT unit), and has failed in channel access in an Nth basic bandwidth (N-th LBT unit). In Case 3, the base station is allowed to perform PDSCH transmission through three basic bandwidths (1^(st) LBT unit, 2^(nd) LBT unit, and 3^(rd) LBT unit). Case 4 shows the case in which the base station has succeeded in channel access in all (i.e., N) basic bandwidths. In Case 4, the base station is allowed to perform PDSCH transmission through the N basic bandwidths (1^(st) LBT unit, 2^(nd) LBT unit, 3^(rd) LBT unit, . . . N^(th) LBT unit). The base station transmits a PDSCH through the N basic bandwidths (1^(st) LBT unit, 2^(nd) LBT unit, 3^(rd) LBT unit, . . . N^(th) LBT unit). Case 5 shows the case in which the base station has succeeded in channel access in the third basic bandwidth (3^(rd) LBT unit) that is a basic bandwidth having the second highest priority (secondary LBT unit) and has failed in channel access in the first basic bandwidth (1^(st) LBT unit) that is a basic bandwidth having the highest priority (primary LBT unit) and in the Nth basic bandwidth (N-th LBT unit). In Case 5, the base station is allowed to perform PDSCH transmission through one basic bandwidth (3^(rd) LBT unit). Case 6 shows the case in which the base station has succeeded in channel access in the third basic bandwidth (3^(rd) LBT unit) that is a basic bandwidth having the second highest priority (secondary LBT unit) and in all basic bandwidths from a fourth basic bandwidth to an Nth basic bandwidth, and has failed in channel access in the first basic bandwidth (1^(st) LBT unit) that is a basic bandwidth having the highest priority (primary LBT unit). In Case 6, the base station is allowed to perform PDSCH transmission through N−2 basic bandwidths (3^(rd) LBT unit, . . . N^(th) LBT unit). Case 7 shows the case in which the base station has failed in channel access in the basic bandwidths having the first and second highest priorities when an Nth basic bandwidth is configured to be a basic bandwidth having a third highest priority. In Case 7, the base station is allowed to perform PDSCH transmission through one basic bandwidth (N^(th) LBT unit).

FIG. 20-(b) shows the case in which the base station transmits a PDSCH through a bandwidth which is wider by a power of two times a basic bandwidth. Case 1 shows the case in which the base station has succeeded in channel access in a first basic bandwidth (1^(st) LBT unit) that is a basic bandwidth having the highest priority (primary LBT unit) and has failed in channel access in a second basic bandwidth (2^(nd) LBT unit). In Case 1, the base station is allowed to perform PDSCH transmission through one basic bandwidth (1^(st) LBT unit). Case 2 shows the case in which the base station has succeeded in channel access in the first basic bandwidth (1^(st) LBT unit) that is a basic bandwidth having the highest priority (primary LBT unit) and the second basic bandwidth (2^(nd) LBT unit), and has failed in channel access in at least one of a third basic bandwidth (3^(rd) LBT unit) and a fourth basic bandwidth (4^(th) LBT unit). In Case 2, the base station is allowed to perform PDSCH transmission through two basic bandwidths (1^(st) LBT unit and 2^(nd) LBT unit). Case 3 shows the case in which the base station has succeeded in channel access in all (i.e., N) basic bandwidths. In Case 3, the base station is allowed to perform PDSCH transmission through the N basic bandwidths. Case 4 shows the case in which the base station has succeeded in channel access in the third basic bandwidth (3^(rd) LBT unit) that is a basic bandwidth having the second highest priority (secondary LBT unit) and has failed in channel access in the first basic bandwidth (1^(st) LBT unit) that is a basic bandwidth having the highest priority (primary LBT unit) and in the fourth basic bandwidth (2^(nd) LBT unit). In Case 4, the base station is allowed to perform PDSCH transmission through one basic bandwidth (3^(rd) LBT unit). Case 5 shows the case in which the base station has succeeded in channel access in the third basic bandwidth (3^(rd) LBT unit) that is a basic bandwidth having the second highest priority (secondary LBT unit) and in all basic bandwidths following the third basic bandwidth (3rd LBT unit), and has failed in channel access in the first basic bandwidth (1^(st) LBT unit) that is a basic bandwidth having the highest priority (primary LBT unit). In Case 5, the base station is allowed to perform PDSCH transmission through N−2 basic bandwidths (3^(rd) LBT unit, . . . N^(th) LBT unit). Herein, N−2 is a power of 2. Case 6 shows the case in which the base station has failed in channel access in the basic bandwidth having the first highest priority and in the basic bandwidth having the second highest priority when an Nth basic bandwidth is configured to be a basic bandwidth having a third highest priority. In Case 6, the base station is allowed to perform PDSCH transmission through one basic bandwidth (N^(th) LBT unit).

FIG. 21 shows the case in which, when a BWP is configured to include one or more basic bandwidths according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, one or more basic bandwidths in which a base station can transmit a PDCCH are designated, and the base station transmits the PDCCH in a CORESET configured within each basic bandwidth, according to the designated basic bandwidths, and transmits a PDSCH in the BWP.

One or more basic bandwidths in which the base station is capable of transmitting a PDCCH may be designated in a BWP. At this time, the base station may transmit the PDCCH to the user equipment on the basis of the result of channel access in the designated basic bandwidths. The base station may configure a CORESET within each of the designated basic bandwidths. In another specific embodiment, among basic bandwidths within which CORESETs have been configured, one or more basic bandwidths in which a PDCCH can be transmitted may be designated. Further, as described above, the bandwidth of a CORESET may be configured within each basic bandwidth. Further, the designated basic bandwidths for PDCCH transmission may have the same priority. Specifically, the base station may transmit a PDCCH in one of basic bandwidths which correspond to the designated basic bandwidths and in which channel access has been successfully performed. At this time, in consideration of a scheduling algorithm or the like, the base station may determine the basic bandwidth in which the PDCCH is to be transmitted. Further, basic bandwidths, in which a PDSCH may be scheduled in the PDCCH, among the designated basic bandwidths may be disjointed from each other while being not adjacent to each other. In the embodiment of FIG. 21, a first basic bandwidth (1^(st) LBT unit) and a third basic bandwidth (3^(rd) LBT unit) are designated as basic bandwidths in which a PDCCH can be transmitted. In the embodiment of FIG. 21, when the base station has succeeded in channel access in the first basic bandwidth (1^(st) LBT unit) and the third basic bandwidth (3^(rd) LBT unit), the base station may transmit a PDCCH in one of the first basic bandwidth (1^(st) LBT unit) and the third basic bandwidth (3^(rd) LBT unit).

When the user equipment may monitor a PDCCH in all the designated basic bandwidths. When the user equipment has successfully received a PDCCH in one designated basic bandwidth, the user equipment may omit PDCCH monitoring in the remaining designated basic bandwidths. Specifically, when the user equipment has received a PDCCH for scheduling a PDSCH in one designated basic bandwidth, the user equipment may omit monitoring a PDCCH for scheduling a PDSCH in each of the remaining designated basic bandwidths.

Further, the PDCCH may schedule a PDSCH transmitted in the designated basic bandwidth in which the base station has succeeded in channel access. At this time, the PDCCH may schedule not only the PDSCH transmitted in the designated basic bandwidth in which the base station has succeed in channel access but also a PDSCH transmitted in each of basic bandwidths other than the designated basic bandwidth. The user equipment may receive the PDSCH on the basis of PDSCH scheduling information included in the received PDCCH.

Further, the base station may determine a basic bandwidth, in which a PDSCH is to be transmitted, by combining the result of channel access in a designated bandwidth and the result of channel access in other basic bandwidths in a corresponding BWP. In a specific embodiment, when the base station has also succeeded in channel access in a basic bandwidth adjacent to a designated basic bandwidth, the base station may transmit a PDSCH on the basis of the designated basic bandwidth and the basic bandwidth which is adjacent to the designated basic bandwidth and in which the base station has succeed in channel access. At this time, In another specific embodiment, the base station may transmit a PDSCH through a bandwidth which is wider by a power of two times the basic bandwidth (e.g., 20 MHz*2L, L={0, 1, 2, 3, . . . , X}, X is a natural number). In FIG. 21, LBT units indicate basic bandwidths. As described above, in the embodiment of FIG. 21, two basic bandwidths (1^(st) LBT unit and 3^(rd) LBT unit) are designated as basic bandwidths in which a PDCCH can be transmitted. Further, in the embodiment of FIG. 21, the base station transmits a PDSCH through a bandwidth which is wider by a power of two times the basic bandwidth. Case 1 shows the case in which the base station has succeeded in channel access in a first basic bandwidth (1^(st) LBT unit) that is a designated basic bandwidth and has failed in channel access in a second basic bandwidth (2^(nd) LBT unit). In Case 1, the base station is allowed to perform PDSCH transmission through one basic bandwidth (1^(st) LBT unit). Case 2 shows the case in which the base station has succeeded in channel access in the first basic bandwidth (1^(st) LBT unit) that is the designated bandwidth and in the second basic bandwidth (2^(nd) LBT unit), and has failed in channel access in at least one of a third basic bandwidth (3^(rd) LBT unit) and a fourth basic bandwidth (4^(th) LBT unit). In Case 2, the base station is allowed to perform PDSCH transmission through two basic bandwidths (1^(st) LBT unit and 2^(nd) LBT unit). Case 3 shows the case in which the base station has succeeded in channel access in the third basic bandwidth (3^(rd) LBT unit) that is the designated basic bandwidth and has failed in channel access in the first basic bandwidth (1^(st) LBT unit) that is the designated basic bandwidth and in the fourth basic bandwidth (2^(nd) LBT unit). In Case 3, the base station is allowed to perform PDSCH transmission through one basic bandwidth (3^(rd) LBT unit). Case 4 shows the case in which the base station has succeeded in channel access in the third basic bandwidth (3^(rd) LBT unit) that is the designated basic bandwidth and in all basic bandwidths following the third basic bandwidth (3^(rd) LBT unit), and has failed in channel access in the first basic bandwidth (1^(st) LBT unit) that is the designated basic bandwidth. In Case 4, the base station is allowed to perform PDSCH transmission through N−2 basic bandwidths (3rd LBT unit, . . . N^(th) LBT unit). Herein, N−2 is a power of 2.

The base station may configure, based on an active BWP, scheduling information of a PDSCH. The user equipment may determine that an RA field, which is a field for resource allocation (RA) of DCI of a PDCCH for scheduling a PDSCH, allocates resources on the basis of the active BWP. At this time, the user equipment may receive the PDSCH on the basis of the determination. As in the above-described embodiments, the base station may determine a combination of basic bandwidths, in which a PDSCH is transmitted, on the basis of information about whether channel access in each of multiple basic bandwidths included in the BWP is successfully performed. Thus, the base station is required to finally determine a RA field value of the DCI after channel access. Further, after channel access, the base station is required to finally determine the size of a resource used to transmit a PDSCH. Thus, the complexity of an operation in which the base station schedules PDSCH transmission and configures a PDCCH may increase. Therefore, a method for indicating a resource used to transmit a PDSCH in a PDCCH is needed.

The base station may configure the RA field of the DCI to be divided into a first field, which indicates a basic bandwidth including a resource allocated for PDSCH transmission, and a second field, which indicates a resource allocated for PDSCH transmission within the basic bandwidth indicated by the first field. Specifically, the first field may indicate a basic bandwidth index for identifying the basic bandwidth including the resource allocated for PDSCH transmission or a combination of basic bandwidth indexes. Further, the base station may configure a value of the RA field of the DCI such that the RA field indicates not only the resource allocated for PDSCH transmission within the basic bandwidth but also the basic bandwidth index or the combination of basic bandwidth indexes. Specifically, the user equipment may determine the resource allocated for PDSCH transmission on the basis of the value of the RA field and the position of a basic bandwidth in which a PDSCH included in a PDCCH is transmitted. For example, in the embodiments of FIGS. 19(A), 20(A), and 21, when a PDCCH is transmitted in a unit bandwidth (primary LBT unit) having the highest priority, the RA field may indicate frequency resources (e.g., Case 1, Case 2, Case 3, and Case 4) including the unit bandwidth (primary LBT unit) having the highest priority. When a PDCCH is transmitted in a unit bandwidth (secondary LBT unit) having a second highest priority, the RA field may indicate frequency resources (e.g., Case 5, Case 6, and Case 7) including the unit bandwidth (secondary LBT unit) having the second highest priority.

The base station may transmit a PDCCH in one BWP, and may use the PDCCH to schedule a PDSCH transmitted in a BWP that is different from the BWP in which the PDCCH is transmitted. The scheduling may be referred to as BWP switching. When BWP switching occurs as described above, the user equipment may need, in order to receive a PDSCH according to the BWP switching, a time to retune to the BWP in which a PDSCH is transmitted from the base station. Specifically, BWP switching may include the case in which the center frequency of a BWP is changed, the case in which the frequency band of a BWP is changed, and the case in which the bandwidth of a BWP is changed. According to the above specific circumstances, the user equipment may need a time gap of several hundred us. When PDSCH transmission is performed in a licensed band, the base station may guarantee the time gap and schedule PDSCH transmission. Considering that a device using an unlicensed band, like a Wi-Fi device, performs a CCA in a 9-us unit, a frequency resource, which corresponds to a BWP switched for a time gap generated during BWP switching at the time of PDSCH transmission in the unlicensed band, may be used by another wireless communication device. Therefore, during BWP switching, the base station may transmit a reservation signal in a switched BWP. Specifically, during BWP switching, the base station may transmit a reservation signal to a frequency resource in which a PDSCH is to be transmitted in the switched BWP. In a specific embodiment, the base station may transmit a reservation signal to a frequency resource, in which a PDSCH is to be transmitted in a switched BWP, during a time gap for BWP switching on the basis of time domain resource allocation (TDRA) of a scheduled PDSCH in the BWP switched during BWP switching. At this time, the BWP switching may include at least one among a change in the center frequency of a BWP, a change in the frequency band of a BWP, and a change in the bandwidth of a BWP. The base station may generate a reservation signal by extending a CP of an OFDM symbol for a PDSCH which the base station is to transmit.

The method and the system of the present disclosure have been described in relation to a particular embodiment. However, some or all of elements or operation thereof may be implemented using a computing system having generic-purpose hardware architecture.

The above description of the present disclosure is made for illustrative purposes, and those skilled in the art to which the present disclosure belongs will be able to understand that the present disclosure may be easily modified in other specific forms without changing the technical spirit and essential features of the present disclosure. Therefore, it should be understood that the above-described embodiments are exemplary in all respects and not restrictive. For example, each element, which is described as a single form, may be implemented in a distributed manner, and similarly, elements described as distributed forms may be implemented in a combined form.

The scope of the present disclosure is shown by the following claims rather than the above description, and all changes or modifications derived from the meaning and scope of the claims and their equivalents should be construed as being included in the scope of the present disclosure. 

1. A base station of a wireless communication system, the base station comprising: a communication module; and a processor configured to control the communication module, wherein the processor is configured to: configure one or more bandwidth parts (BWPs) for a user equipment in an unlicensed band; perform channel access in an activated BWP among the one or more BWPs configured for the user equipment; and when the channel access in the BWP is successfully performed, transmit a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) for scheduling a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) through the BWP.
 2. The base station of claim 1, wherein, when multiple BWPs among the one or more BWPs configured for the user equipment are activated and the base station has succeeded in channel access in multiple BWPs among the multiple activated BWPs, the processor is configured to transmit the PDSCH in a BWP having a highest priority among the multiple BWPs in which the base station has succeeded in channel access.
 3. The base station of claim 2, wherein the priority is determined based on a bandwidth of each of the multiple BWPs.
 4. The base station of claim 2, wherein the priority is determined based on an index of each of the multiple BWPs.
 5. The base station of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to activate only one of the one or more BWPs configured for the user equipment.
 6. The base station of claim 5, wherein the processor is configured to, when a control resource set (CORESET) is configured in the activated BWP, configure the CORESET within a basic bandwidth included in the activated BWP, wherein the basic bandwidth indicates a unit in which the base station determines whether a channel is idle.
 7. The base station of claim 6, wherein, when the base station has succeeded in channel access in multiple basic bandwidths which are configured within the activated BWP and comprises CORESETs, the processor is configured to transmit the PDCCH in a CORESET of one of the multiple basic bandwidths.
 8. The base station of claim 7, wherein a priority is designated for each of the multiple basic bandwidths comprising the CORESETs, and the processor is configured to determine, based on the priority of each of the multiple basic bandwidths, a basic bandwidth in which the PDCCH is to be transmitted.
 9. The base station of claim 8, wherein each of the multiple basic bandwidths comprising the CORESETs has a unique priority.
 10. The base station of claim 6, wherein multiple basic bandwidths in which the PDCCH is capable of being transmitted, among the multiple basic bandwidths comprising the CORESETs, are designated, and the processor is configured to, when the base station has succeeded in channel access in multiple basic bandwidths among the multiple designated basic bandwidths, transmit a PDCCH in a CORESET of one of the multiple basic bandwidths in which the channel access is successfully performed.
 11. A user equipment of a wireless communication system, the user equipment comprising: a communication module; and a processor configured to control the communication module, wherein the processor is configured to: receive signaling regarding a bandwidth part (BWP) from a base station; determine, based on the signaling, an activated BWP among one or more BWPs configured in an unlicensed band; and monitor a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) in the activated BWP.
 12. The user equipment of claim 11, wherein the processor is configured to: when multiple BWPs are activated for the user equipment, sequentially monitor a PDCCH in the multiple BWPs, based on a priority of each of the multiple BWPs; and when a PDCCH has been received in one of the multiple BWPs, omit PDCCH monitoring in BWPs other than the BWP in which the PDCCH has been received.
 13. The user equipment of claim 12, wherein the priority is determined based on a bandwidth of each of the multiple BWPs.
 14. The user equipment of claim 12, wherein the priority is determined based on an index of each of the multiple BWPs.
 15. The user equipment of claim 11, wherein only one of the one or more BWPs configured for the user equipment is activated.
 16. The user equipment of claim 15, wherein, when a control resource set (CORESET) is configured in the activated BWP, the CORESET is configured within a basic bandwidth included in the activated BWP, and wherein the basic bandwidth indicates a unit in which the base station determines whether a channel is idle.
 17. The user equipment of claim 16, wherein the processor is configured to monitor a PDCCH, based on a priority of each of multiple basic bandwidths comprising the CORESET.
 18. The user equipment of claim 17, wherein each of the multiple basic bandwidths comprising the CORESET has a unique priority.
 19. The user equipment of claim 16, wherein basic bandwidths, in which the PDCCH is capable of being transmitted, among the multiple basic bandwidths comprising the CORESET, are designated by the base station, and the processor is configured to monitor the PDCCH in a CORESET of each of the multiple designated basic bandwidths.
 20. The user equipment of claim 11, wherein the processor is configured to: receive a PDCCH for scheduling a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH); and receive the PDSCH, based on a resource allocation (RA) field of downlink control information (DCI) of the PDCCH for scheduling the PDSCH, wherein the RA field comprises: a first field which indicates a basic bandwidth comprising a resource allocated for transmission of the PDSCH; and a second field which indicates a resource allocated for PDSCH transmission within the basic bandwidth indicated by the first field. 